


Try to Picture Me Without You (but I can't)

by Seito



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Earthlings, Gen, Mythical Beings & Creatures, Post-Future Arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-05-10 21:26:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 23
Words: 20,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5601679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seito/pseuds/Seito
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsuna was dying and nothing anyone did helped. At the cusp of the 36th hour, Reborn concedes defeat and goes to call the one person he swore to never to: his mother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Reborn stoically stared at the hospital waiting room. The entire room was filled with most of Vongola's upper echelon. Iemitsu was comforting a distraught Nana; Lal, Basil, Colonnello and Viper were talking in low voices, handling the influx of information and coordination. Xanxus prowled like a caged tiger; his officers, normally rowdy, were quiet and tense. Nono looked calm, but the knuckle white grip on his cane said otherwise. Aria and Gamma were in the other room, where Aria was resting. Fon, Skull and Bianchi were managing to keep the kids entertained and suitably distracted. The lack of smile on (present-day) Byakuran was a surefire sign of how serious the situation was.

Crowding near the surgery door, most of them pacing back and forth, were Tsuna's guardians and friends. They were jittery, flipping through concern, worry, and a general sense of uselessness. Even the two most aloof guardians, Hibari and Mukuro (whom switched with Chrome every other hour) had just the tiniest hint of fear reflected in their eyes.

Two weeks after returning from the hellhole that was 'the-future-that-never-will-be', Reborn supposed he could forgive that. The guardians especially had to cope that ten years into the future (that was never going to happen), that their Sky was death. (Even if it turned out to be a ploy, a trick, they had for even a short time confront the idea of Tsuna dead). Only now, instead of it being a strong possibility in ten years, it was hitting too close for comfort.

Tsuna was dying.

_-Seventeen Hours Ago-_

" _We don't know what's happening,'' Shamal explained. The doctor looked exhausted, a give considering he had been on his feet for the last ten hours, keeping Tsuna together until Vongola's medical team could arrive to help with shifts. Right now they were rotating, to give everyone a chance to rest, breathe and sleep._

_Tsuna had just collapsed on the way to school, for no rhyme or reason. His wounds from the fight against future Byakuran had all healed by that point, no underlying cause that would cause him to collapse, not like that._

" _His body is falling apart, literally," Shamal continued. "Organs keep shutting down, his heart stops, his lungs give out, his Flames. His Flames are draining away, like they're being absorbed. A transfer of Sky Flames helps; it was a good thing your other student was visiting. Tsuna wouldn't have lasted if we had to wait for the rest of Vongola to arrive. But we're just buying time."_

" _What's causing it?" Reborn asked._

" _I don't know," Shamal said gravely. "As as I can tell, there's no reason for this to be happening. His body is just falling apart."_

"Verde said there's no word yet," Lal murmured.

Verde had been more or less forcibly kidnapped to work on the case (something he grudgingly did). A very confused Irie and Spanner was also brought in, their future memories swimming in their head, trying to sort out present and future.

Since their arrival, four hours after Tsuna collapsed and it became evident that Tsuna wasn't suffering a common ailment, they had been working non stop trying to isolate the cause.

It was now the start of the 36th hour and Tsuna was barely holding on, the machines and borrowed Flames keeping his body alive.

"When do we concede defeat?" Lal asked.

Reborn looked at her with a sharp glare.

Lal didn't let it intimidate her. "Look, I don't like admitting defeat either! But we have to face the facts here. It's been a day and a half. We can't keep this up. The amount of borrowed Sky Flames is already starting to take the toll on the other Sky Flame holders, the limited amount of rest they're getting isn't enough to recharge them!"

There was truth in that. Dino was currently in there for a third time already in the 36th hours and the last time Reborn saw his student, Dino looked as if he hadn't slept in a week.

And so Reborn found himself at a crossroad.

One last secret of his to give. Not the secret of the Arcobaleno Curse, one secret that only Reborn and two other people knew (and those two people weren't here, have never meant anyone in this room). Was Tsuna worth it?

He snorted. Of course Tsuna was. The thought of losing his student was unacceptable. After facing a future where Reborn apparently couldn't have done anything; he had the memories of dying from the 7^3 poison, weak and unable to stop Tsuna from going to that meeting that resulted in his (fake) death. Reborn remembered dying, thinking he had failed his student.

"One last option, then," Reborn said softly. Leon crawled down from his hat to nuzzle Reborn's cheek, a small comfort.

"Reborn?" Lal asked, questioningly.

Reborn tipped his fedora, pulling it down to hide his eyes. "I'm going to make a call."

He exited the hospital waiting room, finding a small private spot in the gardens. Punching the numbers Reborn knew by heart, he waited for the person on the other side to pick up.

"Renato?"

Reborn felt his heart squeeze a little at the warm voice he hadn't heard in years.

"Renato?"

"Hello, Kaasan."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> owo b I'm really glad you guys like the start of this story. owo b

Two truths and a lie:

1) Reborn's parents are dead.

2) He is Italian.

3) He hates his parents.

Do you see the lie?

* * *

**Truth:** Reborn's parents are dead.

Ask anyone who knew Reborn. Those closest to him, Luce long dead, Nono an old friend, Shamal the doctor, Dino his student, Bianchi the not quite lover, and the Arcobaleno through shared connections knew this as a fact. They do not know the whole story, but together they do. The story of a mother dead to illness and a father gunned down in the streets. How Reborn lived on the streets until his first assassination, setting himself on the road to be the World's Greatest Hitman. Reborn had no family to be used as leverage against him; his few friends were equally deadly and the only living lover (which was less of a lover and more like a fond affection/student) was the Poison Scorpion herself.

Yes, Reborn's parents were dead.

Renato's parents were not.

* * *

**Partially True:** He is Italian.

Renato's father was full Italian, born and raised under the golden sun. Renato's mother was _something_. Yet despite this, Renato's birthland was Japan. He grew up along the coast in a small discreet village. They moved to France when he was ten (where Reborn would pick up his favorite last name alias: Sinclair) and occasionally spent summers in Italy.

So Nana's request to be called Mama was acceptable (or _Mamma_ per Italian). Her original request for kaasan was rejected. Renato has a kaasan, even if he did not say it.

* * *

**Lie:** He hates his parents.

Renato loved his parents.

His parents were the type to let him do as he pleased, expecting him to learn from his mistakes. When he was eleven and wanted to eat dessert all the time, he paid the price and suffered through hours at the dentist office with his cavities. (Incidentally, he now swore off sweets for the rest of his life, except on special occasions.) When he was sixteen and got caught stealing for a third time, he didn't get bailed out of jail, instead served time for three months. (It wasn't that bad. Renato could fend for himself; his mother made sure of that. But somewhere in France, Ryan Beaumont has a juvenile record. Though as far as France was concerned, Ryan Beaumont was dead.)

Unorthodox parenting methods aside, Renato learned from his mistakes. It taught him to plan for everything, how to predict how people would react, how to scheme his way out of the worst situations and how he couldn't always rely on someone to bail him out. (Though he would only need to ask his parents for help and they would do everything in their power to help.) More importantly, the consequences for his actions.

So when Renato entered the mafia world as Reborn the Hitman, he wiped all connections to his past. This meant in order to protect his parents, he cut off all communication with them. Sure, they disapproved (very loudly and for the first time he saw his mother upset to the point where she couldn't form words), but ultimately they let him go, understanding that he wanted to do this and the consequences he reaped were from the seeds he had sown.

That, of course, didn't stop them from stalking him, sending gifts on his (real) birthday and cards for the holidays. All untraceable and unsigned, but Reborn knew.

His parents might be okay with him going out and letting him dealing with his mistakes, to suffer his own consequences, but only on their terms and with them acting as a safety net. (Reborn knew how many bullets he should have had and how many enemies he was up against. 10 bullets, 12 enemies, so where had the extra bullets come from?) (That wound had been fatal, but instead of bleeding out in the alleyway, he woke up in a hospital twenty seven miles away). His parents. Overprotective to a fault.

But, because of this habit of theirs, Reborn knew exactly what to say next to his mother.

"I know you're somewhere in or near Namimori," Reborn said. They would have dropped everything and moved to or near Namimori the minute Reborn accepted the job to tutor Tsuna.

His mother was quiet on the other side.

Thankfully, she did not question why Reborn's voice was that of a child instead of the post-puberty teen she should have known when Renato had left all those years ago. Just another reason why Reborn was thankful that he cut his parents out of the picture. How could he ever explain his latest blunder caused him to be cursed? Even if they were most likely aware of the situation at this point. Or at least aware that their child had returned to the physical age of 1.

"I need help," Reborn forced out. He hated asking for help.

"I'll be there," his mother said. "Namimori General Hospital correct?"

"Yes," Reborn said. (Sometimes he wondered if his mother had him implanted with a GPS tracker when he was born. He wouldn't put it pass her.) "Thank you," he said before hanging up.

Now all there was to do was to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to explain, you're going to see me flip flop between Reborn/Renato throughout this story. For the most part, our favorite hitman will still be called Reborn. I tend to refer to him as Renato when event/memory belongs to Renato solely or when his motivation/thinking would be different as Renato compared to Reborn (i.e. as shown in this chapter, Reborn will say his parents are dead, Renato will not.). Similar to the way fandom treats Tsuna's "Boss" Mode or even certain interpretations of HDWM. I hope that make sense?
> 
>  
> 
> We'll meet Reborn's mom next chapter. -ninja-


	3. Chapter 3

Not even ten minutes later, Reborn's mother stormed onto the hospital grounds. A presence of controlled power and chaos, condensed into one woman. Long white hair flowing behind her, the neat pressed lines of her vibrant purple kosode and black hakama made her look like an elegant lady. (Which she was; Reborn's love of suits was born from the fact that his mother never looked less than perfect, no matter how dirty of a mess she came out of). The only thing physically that Reborn shared with his mother was their black eyes.

"Renato," his mother said. "Reborn," she corrected seconds later.

"Your current alias?" Reborn asked.

His parents, being the paranoid couple they are, burned through aliases like they were water. There was a good reason for that. Reborn knew his parents' real names, but it wasn't anything he was going to share. The same way no one would know the connection between Renato and Reborn if Reborn had anything to do with it.

"Shouhen Kaun."

Reborn snorted. Rebirth, Summer Cloud. Could his mother get anymore obvious?

She poked him in the stomach and said, "Address me as you like, Reborn."

Oh. He didn't think she would let him continue the charade that his parents were dead. Yet his mother was giving him permission to maintain whatever lie he wanted to feed his… famiglia: whether Kaun was just a cousin, a friend, or acquaintance.

Reborn hesitated. It would be safer to call Kaun an acquaintance. To claim her as anything else would open a can of worms that Reborn didn't want to confront. Just one tiny issue, the whole reason why Renato hid his parents from the mafia world.

Kaun didn't look a day older than twenty seven.

In fact, Reborn couldn't recall his mother looking anything but twenty seven throughout his entire childhood. By the time Renato had hit his teens, he had taken to introducing his parents as older siblings/cousins because no one would have believed they were his parents due to the physical age difference. (It was part of the reason why his parents kept several different aliases and moved around every so often.)

As for why she looked like that… No, Reborn, _Renato_ was not going to deal with that headache.

Kaun petted Leon, cooing at the green chameleon and clearly amused by Reborn's thought process.

Screw it. Reborn would cross that bridge should it happen. Right now the most important thing was Tsuna who was still _dying._

"I'm going to assume you know the basic information," Reborn said.

"It's dangerous to assume like that," Kaun said patiently. "But you are referring to the fact that you were sent here over a year ago to train the last Decimo Candidate, one Sawada Tsunayoshi. To skim over some details, Sawada-kun has faced the criminal Rokudo Mukuro and won, and has sealed his position for Decimo by triumphing over Xanxus." She paused, smiling. "You're fond of Sawada-kun."

Reborn scowled. Of course he was fond of Tsuna, it didn't mean he liked that his mother could read him like an open book. Then again, it was _his mother_.

"Tsuna collapsed for no reason," Reborn explained. "His body is failing him, his Flames extinguishing. We've kept him alive since then, but we're running out of options."

"Show me then," Kaun said.

Kaun was, last Reborn checked at least, a doctor. Shamal might be the best, but second opinion might be prudent. Besides, his mother's sight was the best.

Reborn directed her to the surgery observation room. They both ignored the curious and questioning looks they had received as they had passed through the waiting room. Thankfully, no one stopped them. Reborn climbed to sit on her shoulder, watching as Shamal had entered surgery again and working furiously. Dino was still inside, providing a donation of Sky Flames and Ryohei had taken Daisy's place as the Sun Flame donator. Two Vongola nurses were assisting Shamal as they continued to keep Tsuna's body working. Shamal's Mist Flames, replacing the organs that failed as Daisy fixed them. Dino linked Tsuna and his hands together; the Sky Flames burning bright.

"Oh," Kaun said softly.

"You know what's wrong?" Reborn asked. That was not a surprised 'oh'. That was a realization 'oh', and judging from the frown on her face, not a good one.

"Yes, I believe so," Kaun said.

"Can you fix it?" Reborn asked.

"Technically, yes," Kaun said; her frown growing deeper. "But I get a feeling I'm not going to like it. The large group of people in the waiting room, that was Sawada-kun's friends and family?"

"Yes."

"Introduce them to me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So meet Kaun. :3 Things are about to get very interesting...  
> Please leave a comment on the way out!


	4. Chapter 4

Kaun and Reborn returned to the waiting room. Instantly all eyes snapped to them.

"Who the hell are you?" Xanxus snarled, asking the question on everyone's mind.

"Kaun," she sniped back. "Who are Sawada-kun's parents?"

Reborn pointed to Nana and Iemitsu. "His mother, Sawada Nana and blond idiot his father Iemitsu. Also the head of the CEDEF."

His mother frowned. It was easy for her to piece together the implications of that.

"Boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, significant other?" Kaun asked.

"Just a small time crush," Reborn answered. One he knew was beginning to fade away. Tsuna would probably always love Kyoko as his first crush, Reborn also knew his student was beginning to recognize the difference between a deep love and a simple crush. Tsuna was growing up.

His mother's frown increased. That was not a good sign. "Best friends?" Kaun asked.

"Gokudera Hayato and Yamamoto Takeshi, his Storm and Rain Guardians," Reborn answered, pointing the teens out. "Next to them, Sasagawa Kyoko. Her brother, Ryohei is Tsuna's Sun Guardian and he was the white haired boy in the surgery room. Miura Haru, Hibari Kyoya his Cloud Guardian and Rokudo Mukuro one of his Mist Guardians." Each of Tsuna's Guardians looked at Kaun with wary glances.

"His Lightning Guardian?" Kaun questioned, glancing at the rest of the room.

Reborn pointed to Lambo who sitting with I-pin and Fuuta. Lambo stared at Kaun, strangely determined and not crying despite the situation. "The cow brat," Reborn said flatly.

His mother raised her eyebrow, but otherwise didn't comment. Instead, she grimaced and turned back to Tsuna's Guardians. "His relationship with his Cloud and Mist?" she asked.

"Unstable at best," Reborn answered.

As both Hibari and Mukuro bristled at those words, Reborn added on cruelly, "Do not deny it. Hibari still thinks Tsuna is a weak herbivore and Mukuro wants to possess Tsuna's body."

Hibari snarled and Mukuro frowned, but both didn't protest against Reborn's words.

Mentally though, Reborn frowned. What was wrong with Gokudera and Yamamoto? It was easy enough to see that the requirements his mother was looking for was Dying Will Flames and a strong relationship with Tsuna. Nana would qualify, but possessed no Dying Will Flames. Tsuna's relationship with his father was non-existent at best, despite the fact that Iemitsu having the highly prized Sky Flames. Though they were fairly recently discovered, Gokudera and Yamamoto had gotten an intense training session in the future with their Flames. While they still had much to learn, they were still better than the average Vongola member.

"You said one of his Mist Guardians. Where is the other one?" Kaun asked.

Mukuro's appearance faded away and Chrome reappeared. Kaun's eyes narrowed. She looked at Reborn and said, "We are going to have a long talk about that later on."

Reborn refused to feel like a chastised child. He wasn't responsible for the dangerous method both Mists decided to implement.

"Anyone else?" Kaun asked. "Family members, those who have a strong relationship with him?" Judging from the underlying plea in his mother's voice, she wasn't finding what she needed.

"Nono is distant blood relative. Shamal is his doctor. Dino considers him to be a little brother, same for Bianchi. I'm his tutor. Everyone else, the relationship is too new, started off on the wrong foot or has yet to grow into anything significant," Reborn said. Where exactly was his mother going with this?

Kaun took one last survey of the room. Her expression was thunderous, displeased by the turn of events.

"I'm not going to do this," she finally announced.

That produced an instantaneous reaction. "What!" over half the room yelled at her. Tensions tipped to their boiling point. Weapons were drawn, bloodlust curling in the air. For a brief short moment, there had been hope. They didn't know who Kaun was, didn't know how Reborn knew her, but they all knew that the World's Greatest Hitman wouldn't bring in a stranger if there wasn't a chance to help.

Their anger was justifiable. Kaun's words were 'I'm not going to do this' and not 'I'm not able to do this.' It was not lack of skills that was preventing her from helping, but because she didn't _want_ to.

A single gunshot shut everyone up.

It didn't come from Xanxus' gun nor did it come from Reborn's.

It came from Kaun's.

No one in the room knew it, but it did not change the fact that Kaun was _Reborn's mother_. See, the only thing physically Reborn and Kaun shared was their eye color. Personality wise? Renato was his mother's son.

This was the woman who taught Reborn how to use guns, who taught him how to scheme like the devil, who thought it was it acceptable to wake people with ten-ton mallets. The woman who taught him how to spread chaos and revel in every minute of it, how to dominate a room with just a smirk, how to kill a man with nothing but a thumb. Everything that made Reborn, the World's Greatest Hitman, he learned it first from his mother.

(In all honesty, the training regiment Tsuna suffered under Reborn's tutelage was a walk in the park compared to what Renato suffered under his mother.)

Kaun smiled serenely (Renato never quite mastered that technique, but a smirk did the job as equally as well) as her gun disappeared back into one of her many hidden hosters. The single pulse of bloodlust, power and chaos that had poured out of her, freezing everyone in the room, faded away in a blink of an eye.

Reborn, who for once, was passively watching things unfold, took advantage of the silence that Kaun had just created.

"You just told me you could," Reborn said. "Why change your mind?"

"That was before you became the only option in the room," Kaun said. "There are over 30 people in this room the ones who qualify don't have the ability and the ones who have the ability don't qualify."

Well, that wasn't surprising if that was her reasoning. Renato knew his mother would never do anything to endanger him.

"The only one who does qualify is you. This technique is dangerous and might kill you," Kaun continued flatly. "Between you and a kid I just met, I'm going to pick you."

There was a rumbling of protests from the crowd, but Reborn ignored them. "Not an option," he said firmly. "Do it with your Dying Will. You taught me that anything worth trying is worth dying for, is worth doing."

In the back Colonnello shouted, "What the hell, kora? She taught Reborn?!" It was followed by a loud smack, most likely from Lal.

"No," Kaun said.

Reborn grit his teeth. It seemed this situation was determined to drag every secret Reborn had out in the open. "Please," Reborn said, ready to admit the truth that was only weeks old. (In hindsight though, it was a long time coming; it was only until a few weeks ago that Reborn acknowledged it).

"Tsuna is _my_ Sky."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -pats Reborn- While Reborn did learn everything from his mom, they do carry themselves in different ways. That is, your first impression of Reborn is suppose to scream at you 'dangerous, chaos, stay far away from!' while Kaun prefers 'I'm cute, look at my smile and you won't even know when I turn your life upside down!' approach. 
> 
>  
> 
> Please leave a comment on your way out!


	5. Chapter 5

Silence descended upon the room at the weight of Reborn's words.

Once upon a time, Luce had been the Arcobaleno's Sky. With her death and Aria unable to fulfill her mother's shoes, they scattered to the wind. Life continued on, new loyalties were forged and built, but as anyone who had claimed a Sky and was claimed by a Sky could attest, it wasn't the same.

It was rare for a previously claimed Element to find a new home under a new Sky. Not impossible, but rare. That was why it wasn't surprising that Aria wasn't able to hold the Arcobaleno together. That was why Skies were so fiercely guarded in the mafia world.

So for Reborn to admit that Tsuna was _his_ Sky, **aloud** , it was shocking. Especially because it was **Reborn**.

There was no denying that Reborn was fond of Tsuna. It was evident to people who knew him well, like Dino who only had to compare how differently Reborn treated Tsuna and him when training them. It was evident to those who had gained their future memories. The sole proof was the simple notion that Reborn was a full time Vongola member, Decimo's Advisor and not just an allied freelancer.

Reborn waited with bated breath for his mother's judgement. Something akin to surprise and grief had briefly reflected in Kaun's eyes before her expression slammed shut.

If there was something his mother could understand it was Sky Loyalty. Before his mother had met his father, she too had a Sky whom Kaun would have burn the world to the ground for. Renato didn't know the story. Only that his mother's Sky was long gone and that wound had yet to heal.

"Fine," Kaun conceded. "On one condition."

"Name it," Reborn said immediately. Whatever it was, Reborn would do it.

"If it fails the first time, if it fails within the first twenty minutes, I am not trying it again," Kaun said. "It's too risky to keep trying."

"Deal," Reborn said without hesitation.

Given his mother's disapproving expression, he was in for several long lectures. Renato would gladly sit through those if there was even a chance that Tsuna would be okay.

"Do you remember your shape training?" Kaun asked.

"Of course," Reborn said.

"5 Cones. The first will be the biggest with a volume of 256.433 cm, radius 7 cm, height 5 cm. The four remaining will have a volume of 47.1 cm, radius 3 cm, height 5 cm," Kaun instructed.

Reborn nodded in understanding, drawing up his Sun Flames. In less than a minute, he had five cones, precisely measured to the requirements Kaun had given him. They were solid, its surface smooth.

"I was unaware that Flames could be shaped like that," Nono said. Dying Will Flames were _flames_. They were shapeless, always flickering and changing. They could be solid under certain properties like Lightning's Hardening, Cloud's Propagation and Mist's Construction. To condense pure Dying Will Flames into a solid shape though? That wasn't something the mafia world was aware of.

Kaun looked at him, strangely.

"That isn't taught in the mafia world," Reborn explained to his mother. One of the many advantages Reborn had upon entering the Underground World was that his knowledge of Dying Will Flames eclipsed most mafiosos.

Kaun scowled. "I hope you corrected that when you taught your students."

"Dino is utterly helpless at it," Reborn said. "And there hasn't been time to teach that to Tsuna yet." Dino could make the shape but couldn't retain the smooth surface. Between Mukuro and Xanxus, the seal on Tsuna's Flames, and lastly the mess of the future that never will be, there hadn't been time to teach Tsuna the finer points of Dying Will Flames. Reborn had to focus on getting Tsuna strong enough, to build his famiglia, and to get Tsuna to even care about being a mafia boss before teaching that.

Another sound of disapproval from Kaun. But she didn't say anything, instead collecting the cone from Reborn. She marched into the surgery room and in one swift moment stabbed each cone into Tsuna.

"Who the hell are you?!" Shamal roared.

Kaun ignored him, pulling him away from Tsuna. "You stop your Sun Flames," she instructed Ryohei.

"No, don't!" Shamal countered.

"Let her do as she please Shamal," Reborn said from the doorway.

"Reborn!" Shamal protested.

Kaun looked at Dino and said, "You wean your Sky Flames off slowly. Reduce by 10% every 30 seconds."

Dino looked at his former tutor for confirmation. Reborn nodded and slowly Dino let the Flames die away.

"Who are you?" Shamal shouted.

"Kaun," she bluntly replied.

"And just what do you think you're doing! His body is falling apart! You can't just…" Shamal trailed off as he stared at the monitors that was recording all of Tsuna's vitals. "He's stabilized," he said, stunned.

"That healed Tsuna?" Ryohei asked, hopeful.

"If he remains stable for the next twenty minutes, we'll move on to stage two," Kaun said. "If not, there's nothing I can do to help. If you want an explanation go into the waiting room. I'm only explaining this once."

Shamal turned to the two nurses that were assisting him. "Watch him and report any changes."

"No matter how small a change," Kaun added. "I suggest you do not remove your eyes from him for the next twenty minutes. If he twitches, I want to know. If his vitals surge or crash even a little, I want to know. Understood?"

The two nurses nodded and the five returned to the waiting room.

"He's stable," Shamal announced, still stunned.

"The key is the next twenty minutes," Kaun corrected. "If it holds for the next twenty minutes, there's a chance."

"That was simple," Reborn said.

Kaun glared at her son. "Simple," she scoffed. "This is why the minute this is over you are coming back with me to finish your training."

Someone in the background choked.

"What did you do?" Nana asked. "Please, what is wrong with Tsu-kun?"

Kaun sighed. "Right, right. I'll explain as best I can. Best get comfortable. It's complicated." She paused, collecting her thoughts.

"What do you know about Souls?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsuna's stable! \ o / For now at least.


	6. Chapter 6

"What do you know about Souls?" Kaun asked.

Nana opened and closed her mouth. "Nothing…?" she trailed off.

"Your son's problem isn't physical, it's spiritual," Kaun explained. "Imagine you have two pieces of paper, one blue and one yellow. The blue one represents your physical body, the yellow one represents your soul. The two are attached together by glue. As time passes, the glue weakens, until eventually it can no longer hold the two pieces together. At that time, your soul 'detaches' from your physical body and moves on to the afterlife." She pulled out two pieces of paper and a glue stick from somewhere and promptly demonstrated her words.

"I have no idea what is causing it," Kaun said. "But for some reason, something is causing Sawada-kun's soul to pull away from his body. Going back to my yellow and blue paper analogy, the glue between his physical body and soul is still strong, but something is tugging at his soul. What happens when you tried to separate two pieces of paper glued together?" She tugged at the glued pieces of paper lightly.

Nana paled. "They rip apart," she whispered, horrified.

Kaun nodded and in one swift movement tore the two pieces of glued paper by pulling them apart. "Which is why his body is falling apart," she said. "What I had Reborn do was to anchor Sawada-kun's soul in place, acting as another coat of glue so to speak." She flicked Reborn's hat. "This is dangerous because Dying Will Flames are an extension of your own lifeforce. In other words, pieces of Reborn's soul are now anchoring Sawada-kun down. This can go horribly wrong in many ways. If the pulling is too strong, we can lose both your son and Reborn. Things like soul bonding can happen too. It's risky."

"Why could only Reborn be used?" Nono asked. "You seemed open to the idea, no matter the risk, until Reborn became your only option."

Kaun gave him a deadpanned stare. "I happen to like Reborn," she said dryly.

Understatement of the year. Renato had never doubted his mother's love for him, she never gave him a reason to. In fact, the most surprising thing in the fallout of the Arcobaleno Curse was that his parents didn't sweep in to take care of him. Reborn did, later, find reports of an explosion just outside of a small town several miles from Florence. There was no evidence it was Kaun, but Renato knew.

"There are two requirements to do this. A strong connection like parent, best friend, lover and Dying Will Flames of the Sun, Sky, or Lightning Type," Kaun explained. "And that was before I found out that shape manipulation isn't taught normally."

"Why only Sun, Sky and Lightning?" Yamamoto asked. The kids had drawn closer to hear the explanation; their expressions filled with worry. Chrome bit her lip and Gokudera wrung his hands, all of them fidgeting slightly.

"And what's wrong with me? I'm Tsuna's father and I have Sky Flames," Iemitsu asked.

Kaun stared Iemitsu, deadpanned. "Sun for Healing, Sky for Harmonizing and Lightning for Hardening," she explained, answering Yamamoto's question. "Sun is a natural healer. Sky can harmonize with the soul and Lightning can be used to strengthen the bond."

"That doesn't answer about me," Iemitsu pressed.

Kaun opened her mouth and closed it. She glanced at Reborn before piercing Iemitsu with a sharp look, faintly bemused. "It's so easy to see. Reborn can see it; why can't you?"

To be fair, Reborn didn't see. Not exactly. His sight wasn't what it use to be, but he knew exactly what his mother was speaking of. He didn't need perfect sight for that.

"Tsuna doesn't exactly consider you two to be close," Reborn said.

Tsuna had never discussed the depth of his feelings regarding Iemitsu. But Reborn had observed the tightly clenched fists after Iemitsu had left after delivering the Vongola Rings. He could practically hear the quiet contempt that radiated off of Tsuna every time Nana compared her son to her husband. It was hard to say if it was truly hate or if it was just that Tsuna no longer cared about Iemitsu. (Either thought was just a little frightening. Tsuna had such a big heart. The very idea that Tsuna couldn't accept Iemitsu, regardless of flaws when Tsuna easily, but frighteningly, accepted a criminal like Mukuro spoke very loudly about Tsuna's feeling regarding Iemitsu.)

Iemitsu flinched at Reborn's words.

"Cloud and Mist are fairly neutral in terms of effects on a soul, if we were in a pinch, we could have used them. Storm and Rain Flames are the worst types of Flames in this particular case. Storm will disintegrate the remaining connection and Rain will calm the soul down, in which case they'll stop fighting and as the phrase goes 'will move towards the light'," Kaun continued her explanation.

"Of course that means nothing if no one knew how to shape manipulation of Dying Will Flame," Kaun said, exasperated. She looked at Reborn. "Why is it not taught?"

Reborn fixed his fedora. "I don't know. What disqualifies Dino?"

"You mean beside the fact that he's nearly dead on his feet from Flame depletion?" Kaun scoffed. "At his current levels, he would collapse before treatment is complete and we don't have another Sky Flame User that qualifies who could take his place. Plus the whole shape manipulation issue."

"How long does treatment last?" Shamal asked, curious.

"After the first twenty minutes, and assuming that it holds, a constant application of Flames for 24 hours is crucial. After that, we'll cut it back little by little until it's no longer needed. Once it's no longer needed, we can remove the anchors that Reborn made," Kaun explained. "But, it's a long term recovery. The soul has been detached longer enough that Sawada-kun will have to learn to move again; his hands, legs, walking is going to be impossible at first and before all of the physical therapy can happen, he has to wake up first and stay awake. You're looking at least a year of recovery."

The entire room blanched at that thought. That left Tsuna... very vulnerable for a long time.

"Why the fuck did this happen to baby trash?" Xanxus demanded to know.

There were murmurs of agreement with the Varia's leader's words.

"I would like to know that too," Kaun said, looking at Reborn.

Why was his mother looking at him? Reborn didn't have the faintest idea of what was happening. Before he could answer her, Kaun pulled out her phone to check the time.

"Twenty minutes should be up," Kaun said. "Let's go see if the anchors held."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a long road of recovery for Tsuna and that's assuming that all goes according to plan...


	7. Chapter 7

"Reborn," Nono said.

Reborn didn't follow his mother into Tsuna's room. His presence would do nothing in there. It would either work or it wouldn't. He trusted his mother enough with Tsuna.

"Who is she?" Nono asked.

While he didn't outwardly show it, Reborn felt a touch of pity. Nono looked exhausted. The rush to secure Tsuna's position as Decimo was due to Nono's failing health and this added complication took its toll on the aging Vongola Boss.

"Shouken Kaun," Reborn said. "Doctor." He offered no other explanation. Let them draw their own conclusions on his exact relationship with his mother.

"She taught you kora?!" Colonnello shouted in disbelief.

"Yes," Reborn said.

Colonnello just looked like he had been slapped, stunned beyond belief. Reborn smirked. For some reason, people liked assume that Reborn had always been this way. It was impossible for them to picture him as a young child, which suited Reborn just fine.

"Can she be trusted?" Lal asked.

"I trust her," Reborn said. Trust was fickly. Reborn trusted that his mother wouldn't do anything to Tsuna because now she understood how important Tsuna was to him. Thus by extension, she would do anything to keep Tsuna healthy because it made Reborn happy. Outside of that? Everything was fair game. In other words, she would insult half the group, physically injure a quarter and actually attempt to kill the rest. Dino was probably safe. Iemitsu was probably a dead man walking and depending on how she react to Nono's not exactly real grandfather persona, Nono would probably only end up injured.

Reborn was going to let her.

He was not stupid. Alliances and fondness be damned, Renato was not stupid enough to challenge his mother when she set her mind to something.

(No, it was far safer to ask his father and then watch from the sidelines while his father disarmed his mother. That never stopped being impressive to watch.)

Speaking of his father, the con would probably be up if his father decided to visit the hospital. Reborn looked too much like him for it be a simple coincidence.

He would have to cross that bridge when he got there.

Unceremoniously, he felt himself being picked up by his collar. He bristled, before relaxing upon recognizing his mother.

"The anchors are holding," Kaun said without preamble.

"Wait-!" Nana said.

"What does that mean?"

"Does that mean Jyuudaime will be okay?"

"Where are you going?"

Naturally, Kaun ignored all the questions and protest, sweeping off into Tsuna's room. Once inside, she dropped Reborn onto Tsuna's bed.

Reborn heard the door lock, keeping the noisy bystanders out. He paid no attention to it, staring down at the still body of Tsuna instead. His heart clenched at how frail the small brunet looked. The last 37 hours had taken its toll on Tsuna. He had lost plenty of weight, nothing but skin and bones. His skin a pale pallor, washed out, and his spiky brown hair limp. The brilliant warm brown eyes closed and breathing labored, wispy and shallowed.

"Spread your Flames as evenly as possible through him," Kaun instructed.

Reborn nodded, channeling a steady stream of Flames into Tsuna. Tsuna's Sky Flames greeted him in return, tiredly but still warm. Reborn could sense the anchors he had created, pressing down on Tsuna's very soul.

Silence descended upon the room.

"He won't be compatible but with the echo resonance of your Flames, your father will be a suitable backup," Kaun said. "While I know you could potentially last the first 24 hours without rest, and that Sawada-kun's relationship with his Sun Guardian is strong enough…" she trailed off.

She reached out to touch the yellow pacifier around his neck.

Reborn stiffened.

"We're going to have to talk about this as well," Kaun said. There was a thread of anger in her words; her black eyes flashing.

Reborn grit his teeth but nodded his consent. He did not want to discuss anything regarding the Arcobaleno Curse, but there was no way his mother would let it rest.

It was just a small price to pay for Tsuna's continued good health.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anchors holding! -cheer-


	8. Chapter 8

"What happened two weeks ago?" Kaun asked.

The last hour had passed in silence. The pounding at the door had finally stopped (only after Kaun had opened it and shot whoever was at the door three times did they finally get a hint to stop trying).

Reborn was surprised that none of the promised lectures, or even the discussion of the pacifier around his neck had been started. Perhaps she wanted him to concentrate? He highly doubted it. After all, his mother use to make him recite his history lessons or solve complex math problems all while dodging the bullets she fired at him as a kid. There was nothing she could throw at him that would break his concentration of Flames.

His brain sputtered to a stop when he realized what exactly her question was. Reborn's control wavered for a split second before he automatically corrected it. Two weeks ago. A chill ran down Reborn's spine.

"We came back from the Future That Never Will Be," he answered curtly.

"Time travel?" Kaun asked.

To his mother's credit, she was not outwardly surprised by his response. In fact, her response was calm and leveled as if she was confirming the time of an appointment.

"Yes," Reborn asked, glancing at her. He then proceeded to give her a brief overview of what had happened; Byakuran's goal of world domination, Ten Years Later Tsuna's mad plan, the Choice Game, and the final fight between Byakuran and Tsuna.

As the story continued, he watched as Kaun's frown grew more and more pronounced. A sharp dangerous gleam reflected in her eyes.

Once he was finally done, she pursed her lips. "Let me get this straight," Kaun said. Her words sounded calm, but there was a force of darkness in them. "The Holder of the Sky Mare Ring went crazy and was killed, the Holder of the Sky Pacifier sacrificed herself to bring back the rest of the Arcobaleno, and the Holder of the Sky Vongola Ring destroy the Vongola Rings?"

"You know about the Tri-Ni-Set?" Reborn asked. When would his mother have ever come into contact with that knowledge? It wasn't even that well known in the mafia world and he personally knew that his parents didn't like the mafia world at all. The Tri-Ni-Set, to Reborn's research, had always been a Mafia thing.

"Answer the question, Renato," Kaun hissed.

"Yes," Reborn said.

To his surprise, Kaun let out a string of profanities in several different languages. "I knew he was an idiot, but that is taking the fucking cake," she snapped. She stood and paced the room like a caged animal, bristling and snarling.

'Well if there was ever a bad sign, it would be Kaasan swearing like that,' Reborn thought privately to himself. Considering, as far as his memories went, the only other time his mother had swore like that was the first time Reborn had informed his parents of his decision to join the mafia world as a hitman. Well, after she recovered from her stunned shock.

He watched as his mother pace a couple more times before repeating his question. "What do you know about the Tri-Ni-Set?" Reborn asked.

Kaun snorted, temple twitching. "Practically nothing at first, outside of the fact that it existed and a basic cursory understanding of how it worked," she said. "I took a closer look once I received word that you had taken up the Sun Pacifier." Her expression darkened.

Reborn ruthlessly squashed the brief flare of hope. He had come to terms with the Arcobaleno Curse. Just because his mother had a better understanding of Flames than anyone else seemed to, did not mean she had a cure. Of course, it stood a better chance that she probably had a cure compared to waiting for Verde to find one.

Kaun took a deep breath. The anger and tension faded away into calm as her expression smoothed out. She sank back into the chair and for a brief moment, Reborn saw a flash of how _old_ his mother was really.

"Tri-Ni-Set," she said, eyes narrowed. "That explains why Sawada-kun collapsed then."

Wait, what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah it's been awhile. The plunny keeps running away from me for this fic. But hey! We're finally reaching the reason poor Tsuna collapsed. 8D 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. It feeds the motivation.


	9. Chapter 9

"What does the Tri-Ni-Set have to do with Tsuna's condition?" Reborn asked.

Kaun rubbed her temples. Reborn decided he did not like the weary tired look on his mother's face. It was foreboding to see her like that.

"Skies are important. This is an undisputable fact of the Flames of Sky," she said. "The Skies of the Tri-Ni-Set are arguably the most important people in the entire universe."

Frowning Kaun looked at Tsuna who continued to slumber, unaware of how close he was to dying. "Due to the nature of the Tri-Ni-Set, the Skies that are chosen for the system repeat throughout the parallel worlds. It is very rare for a different Sky to be picked in a different universe and usually in those cases it's a generational thing, a predecessor whose successor is not yet born for example."

"The reason why Byakuran is the holder of the Mare Rings in every dimension, despite the fact that he was clearly insane," Reborn reasoned.

"Yes," Kaun agreed. "The Tri-Ni-Set…" She paused, trying to grasp words. "I have always known about the Tri-Ni-Set," Kaun said. "It's a system that was created at a desperate time and my real job has kept me busy enough that I never had the time to stop and look at it closely. There is always some sort of crisis going on that required my attention and why fix what isn't broken?" She shrugged.

"I assumed that changed when you found out I took up the Sun Pacifier?" Reborn asked.

"Yes," Kaun said.

No one ever said his mother was a saint. Reborn knew when it came down to it, there were only two people in the world that his mother would actively go out of the way to save: his father and himself. Beyond that, Kaun wouldn't even bat an eyelash at thousands of people dying. No one, except for her Sky, had ever earned her loyalty to motivate her into action.

Case in point, Reborn had been unable to convince her to take the risk to heal Tsuna until he had revealed how important Tsuna was to Reborn.

The tragedy of the Arcobaleno Curse would have continued on for centuries more if Reborn hadn't unwittingly taken up the role of the Sun Arcobaleno.

"Do you have a cure for the Arcobaleno Curse?" Reborn asked. He mentally patted himself on the back that his voice didn't reveal the desperation and rage he felt whenever he thought of the curse. The tiny seed of hope grow bigger and bigger.

Kaun reached out, cupping his face with her hands. "Of course, Renato. They still need more testing, and I would need a full medical examination to confirm. That family quirk you're trying to avoid might get triggered as well."

Reborn fell silence. His eyes flickered to the door, the only signal of his unease. "Tailored just for me or for the rest of the Arcobaleno as well?" Despite holding them at arm's length and all the bickering and fighting they did, Reborn did hold his fellow Arcobalenos with respect and some degree of fondness.

Kaun smirked. "Your father reminded me that you would probably like your friends to have the cure as well and yes, I do think we've found something."

Reborn looked down at his hands, watching his Sun Flames dance before sinking into Tsuna's skin. Relief filled him. If only he had gone home all those years ago…

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"Anything for you, love," Kaun said, tugging at his curly sideburn.

Reborn believed that. His parents never denied him anything he wanted after all.

"Going back to the issue at hand," Kaun said. "The Tri-Ni-Set is what supports the entire universe. All of life can continue onward because of it. Humans have evolved this far because of it, even if majority of the population is unaware of what Flames are. Without the Tri-Ni-Set, all life will slowly begin to decay, until there is nothing left. A barren wasteland, much like those apocalypse movies those Americans are fond of making.

"Of course, the Tri-Ni-Set is a flawed system that is built around the Skies of the three sets. Skies are important to the Tri-Ni-Set. You can have missing elements, and the Tri-Ni-Set will function. In fact, all you really need is one Sky and the system will run. But you _need_ a Sky. If you have all the other elements but no Skies, the system won't function."

Reborn didn't like where his mother was going with this. Her previous question echoed in his head. _The Holder of the Sky Mare Ring went crazy and was killed, the Holder of the Sky Pacifier sacrificed herself to bring back the rest of the Arcobaleno, and the Holder of the Sky Vongola Ring destroy the Vongola Rings?_

The Tri-Ni-Set was built around the Skies… and in the Future-That-Never-Will-Be there weren't any Skies left. The Tsuna of that future was still alive, but the Vongola Rings did not exist anymore… except that it _did_ , in the shape of present day's Tsuna's Sky Ring.

Kaun hummed in approval, noticing her son had pieced together the puzzle. "Exactly. The Tri-Ni-Set from that future was, is, making a desperate attempt to fix itself. It needs a Sky, a Sky specifically bonded to the Tri-Ni-Set and it had one in its grasp… until you traveled back in time to present day."

"And it can reach across dimensions to pull Tsuna back there?" Reborn demanded.

"What do you think the Mare Rings' full abilities are?" Kaun shot back.

Reborn looked at her in horror. As far as he knew, Byakuran only had the ability to see and communicate with other parallel worlds. Perhaps it was only the limitations of his human body and not the full weight of the Tri-Ni-Set that stopped him from actively traveling to another parallel world to accomplish his original goal. Reborn felt a slight chill run his spine. They would have never stood a chance if Byakuran had managed to travel between worlds.

"The tearing of Tsuna's soul is because this is his timeline, the rightful place where he belongs," Reborn said, as another piece of the puzzle clicked together in his mind.

"Tri-Ni-Set pulls, but Sawada-kun is subconsciously fighting it," Kaun agreed. "And it's tearing him apart."

Reborn's eyes flickered up and down Tsuna's stilled body. He could faintly see the anchors he had created, dimly shimmering. "Should there be more anchors?" he asked.

Kaun sighed. "Yes. Renato… that's dangerous," she warned.

"I won't lose him," Reborn said.

Kaun gave him a strange look, one Reborn couldn't quite identify. "Very well," she said, reluctantly.

Reborn refused to lose Tsuna.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here be the reason for Tsuna's collapse. owo b
> 
> Now, why does Kaun know about the Tri-Ni-Set...? 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. :3


	10. Chapter 10

With more anchors set, Reborn continue to push in Sun Flames into Tsuna's body. It still felt like it wasn't enough, but his mother insisted it would be alright. But...

"I'm up against the weight of the Tri-Ni-Set in the that Future-That-Never-Will-Be," Reborn said slowly. He had to put down anchors strong enough to counter the pulling of the Tri-Ni-Set of a distant parallel future. The Tri-Ni-Set, which was according to his mother, was an all-powerful force.

"You can handle it," Kaun said, confidently.

"But no one else would have," Reborn said. "Why even ask who Tsuna was close to in the first place?" He looked down at the slumbering face of his student. Something must be working because the twisted expression of pain had finally faded away from Tsuna's face.

"Humans are surprisingly resilient," Kaun replied dryly. "Besides, Sawada-kun is a Sky, a powerful one. He should be attracting powerful elements left and right. It should have been easy to chain together enough anchors to support him without ever relying on you. Except, it's all backwards for him."

"Tsuna, rarely follows things to plan, always adapting to something, but always exceeding my expectations," Reborn admitted. Tsuna was always surprising Reborn. No matter how much protesting he did, Tsuna always rose to the occasion and always won.

"High praise from you," Kaun said.

"He doesn't want to be Decimo," Renato said quietly. A job was a job and it was quite different for Renato who willing went into the underworld. To his mother, Renato could admit this, as Reborn he never would.

"Do I have to fake his death?" Kaun asked.

"It's Vongola," Reborn pointed out.

"Your point?" Kaun asked dryly.

Well, it was his mother. So really, he wasn't surprised by that. He supposed, once Tsuna was awake and properly introduced to Kaun, Reborn could subtly hint that if Tsuna really didn't want to become Decimo, his parents were really adept at faking deaths and hiding where no one could find them.

Not entirely sure what the rest of the kids would do and it would be downright silly for that many people to fake their deaths.

Well actually, there was the one time they burned their aliases and yet never left town because the entire town convinced the Johnsons had been in town for decades and that newly moved in Rossi family had only met them once before a tragic fire claimed the Johnsons' family home. Attending his own funeral was interesting. Best part was Reborn didn't change a single part of his appearance and no one asked why he looked like a dead ringer for young Randall Johnson.

Namimori was blind enough that as long as they fool Vongola, Tsuna wouldn't even have to leave town or change his appearance.

None of this mattered though if Tsuna didn't get better.

Kaun checked her phone.

"Ah, it's been over seven hours. Your father is awake and heading over," she said. "I hope you realize that if those people out there see him, they'll figure out who he is to you?"

Of course, he knew that. Never before did Renato curse that he looked exactly like his father.

"It was going to come out eventually," he grumbled. If Tsuna's recovery was going to be long term, there was no way Reborn was going to let his mother wander off from her patient. Which meant his father was going to show up sooner than later because his parents were truly a packaged pair.

But it was going to be so annoying to have everyone find out.

Well as long as no one questioned why his parents looked so young, Reborn wouldn't kill any of them.

That reminded him, he needed to introduce Skull to his mother.

It would be a glorious explosion; he just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahaha counting down until Reborn's father shows up. I hope you guys like him as much as you like Kaun.
> 
> What kind of person do you guys think he'll be? -curious-
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out!


	11. Chapter 11

Dino had never felt so exhausted in his life. Even the intensive training Reborn put him through paled in comparison. His Flames were completely depleted. Have you ever reached the point where you're so physically exhausted and yet you can't sleep? Dino wanted to rest, knew if he gave himself the chance, he could pass out right here and now, much like Aria had done so. But with Tsuna's status unknown, Dino couldn't bring himself to relax, to let go and rest.

That wasn't quite true. Romanio had all but knocked him out after Kaun had snatched up Reborn and disappeared into Tsuna's room. Dino passed out blissfully for five hours before anxiety caused him wake up.

It had been close to nine hours since Kaun had shown up. The waiting room was half empty; the sun had just begun to rise over the horizon. Several people had disappeared to get some rest and food. A few that had vanished earlier were now back. Quite a few (all of Tsuna's Guardians with the exception of Ryohei) never left, some asleep in corners of the waiting room. According to those still present, Kaun and Reborn had yet to come out of Tsuna's room and anyone attempting to enter the room received a bullet. Dino didn't know who she was, how Reborn knew her. All that matter was that she could help Tsuna.

Waiting. That was what they had been reduced to. Dino squeezed his fists. Tsuna had just come back from the hell of a future. He didn't deserve to go through so much, come back and then just… collapse.

"Ciao. I'm looking for a young woman with long white hair, wearing a purpose kosode and black hakama. By any chance have you seen her?"

Dino looked up and stared. He jumped out of his chair, startled. "Reborn?!" he cried out, drawing everyone's attention to him.

Standing in front of him was an adult version of his tutor. The spiky black hair and signature curly sideburns stood out. But instead of familiar black eyes, a pair of green ones looked at Dino amused.

"Ah, you know Reborn," the man said. "If you could tell me where he is, that's also acceptable."

"What the hell, kora?!" Colonnello shouted. "You broke the curse?!"

Dino looked closer. His tired mind managing to split out the subtle differences between his former tutor and the man in front of him. The obvious size difference aside, there was the eye color and the simple manner which the man held himself. Unless it involved some ridiculous cosplay, Dino had never seen his tutor in anything but a suit. This man was wearing an oversized large wool sweater and a pair of slacks, looking perfectly relax, comfortable and _normal_.

So not Reborn.

Just someone who looked like a grown version of him.

…

That was frankly terrifying.

"Who are you?" Dino managed to get out.

The man smiled. (Oh gods that was frightening. Reborn's face smiling at him, in a gentle and friendly manner. Something was wrong with this.)

"Shouhen Asahi."

Asahi, morning sun. Oh god, was this Reborn's father?! Dino's brain sputtered to a stop. He was too tired to make sense of what exactly was happening.

Around him chaos was brewing in true Vongola fashion. People were yelling, some appeared to be having a mental crisis like Dino was, and the man, Asahi, as if someone with practice, easily ignored the surrounding chaos as if it didn't affect him.

"Um," Dino tried. "You're looking for Kaun and Reborn, right?"

Asahi nodded. "Correct."

Dino opened his mouth to reply before Hibari charged forward, swinging his tonfa at Asahi. Asahi took a step back, dodging it with ease.

"Why do you look like the baby?" Hibari demanded to know.

"There's an obvious answer," Asahi said calmly.

'Oh god. It is true. He is Reborn's father!' Dino wailed in his head.

The room had grown quiet and everyone was staring at him again. Dino thought about it, wondering if he had said that last bit aloud.

"You did," Asahi said, amused.

"I thought he just came into existence as a personification of pure chaos," Dino said, distressed. The thought of his tutor having actual normal parents was too foreign of a concept.

Asahi looked at him, concerned. "You know, I think you really need to lie down," he said gently.

That wasn't helping!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we go. Meet Reborn's dad. If you guessed total opposite of Reborn, you were right on the dot. Ahaha.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. owo b


	12. Chapter 12

Here was the thing about marrying someone like Kaun, you adapted fast and become completely unfazed to just about everything. You also become a little twisted… or a lot twisted; it honestly depended on the person.

Which was why, Asahi was completely amused by the reactions he was getting from everyone in front of him. Oh sure, he had heard the stories about his son's reputation in the mafia world. Chaos bringer, death and destruction in his wake, an unchallenged god and so forth and so forth. There was a pretty aggressive rumor that Reborn was actually not human, a demon walking in a human skin.

Honestly, Renato just took after his mother.

But since the mafia world blissfully unaware of Kaun, Reborn was this measuring stick of absolute chaos apparently.

A total lie if you ask Asahi. Renato still had a soft heart (something Asahi helped foster). Kaun on the other hand was jaded enough, cruel enough to take the final step that Renato would (hopefully) always hesitate on.

It wasn't like Asahi was under any illusion about who he had married.

"You're Reborn's father?" a scruffy blond man asked him in disbelief.

"I thought his father was dead," the Storm Arcobaleno said.

"That's what I thought too," the Lightning Arcobaleno said.

Asahi didn't say anything, neither confirming or denying it. Something he learned from his wife was to let people draw their own conclusions. Instead, he gently guided Dino into a chair. Poor boy, he was clearly exhausted.

"There, there," Asahi said kindly.

Dino made an aborted attempt at flinching. Hmm, now why did Dino insist on acting like that? Ah, wait. Kaun's training methods. Or rather Reborn's training methods which was modeled off of Kaun's, which were frankly terrifying. Combined with the fact that Reborn looked like Asahi, probably made Dino very confused because really, the only thing that Renato inherited from Asahi was his physical appearance and flame type.

In terms of personality, Asahi and his son were on opposite end of the spectrum.

It was probably very jarring for Dino.

'Poor boy,' Asahi thought fondly. 'I'll have to snap him out of it eventually. He's practicing family at this point.' Dino was, after all, _Reborn's_. Renato was notoriously possessive. Those that made it far enough into Renato's heart was fiercely guarded, defended until the last breath, that very short list of people that Renato would risk everything on.

Dino was one and according to Kaun, Sawada Tsunayoshi, Reborn's newest student had already claimed a spot.

Well in all good time. Asahi was patient.

"Asahi!"

Kaun came out of the swinging doors, a disguised skip in her very step. It was humbling to know that even after all the years they had been married, his mere presence was enough to put a skip into his wife's stride. On top of that, he had seen her just a few hours ago.

"Kaun, have you been behaving dear?" he teased.

Kaun blinked at him innocently, an expression that hadn't worked on him beyond the first week after they met. "Of course!" she said.

Oh dear. He would have to ask Reborn which of his friends Kaun had maimed in the short hours she had been here. Damage control. It was a tireless job, but it wouldn't be Kaun if she wasn't threatening (and most times succeeding) to killing someone.

"Well, I haven't had a chance to eat yet. Why we go find some food and you can fill me in?" Asahi said. The cafeteria most likely wasn't open yet, but it would be a good distraction. The group around them looked ready to pounce Kaun. That was never a good idea. It would only end in bloodshed.

Asahi had plenty of experience defusing potentially explosive situations. Again, another side effect of marrying Kaun.

Kaun, of course, was well aware of what he was doing and why he was doing it. "Alright," she said, her black eyes glittering mischievously.

He escorted out her of the waiting area. Just as they left, he heard Dino yelp.

"Wait does that mean Kaun is Reborn's mother?!"

Smart boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dino is being adopted without even realizing it. xD I'm really glad everyone likes Asahi. 8D
> 
> I completed this story as part of nano this year. We'll finish with 23 chapters. However drastic changes happened to the plot and some of you might have noticed that this story is no longer listed as R27. I'm ending the story far sooner than originally planned (like I cut the plot in half). As R27 was supposed to happen in the later half, this means I won't be actually getting to it... My apologies. Depending on the strength of your shipping goggles, you'll see all the intentions, even if I don't actually get them together in this fic. Otherwise you can read their relationship as a strong platonic one. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy. :3
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	13. Chapter 13

The cafeteria was not open.

Asahi had already taken that into account. The reason why it had taken him an extra two hours to arrive after waking up was because he cooked breakfast and neatly packed it into a bento box. Given the way Kaun had flown out of the house last night, he had suspected whatever Renato had called about, it was a serious issue and neither his wife nor son had slept or eaten.

Asahi made a note to make sure Renato ate when he got back.

There was no point if you collapsed from lack of food and rest while trying to help people.

Kaun accepted the bento. Her black eyes sparkling with amusement, well aware of what Asahi's reasoning was. She gleefully poked at the brightly colored bento box, chuckling quietly at the cute face that Asahi had drawn on her omelet.

"So?" Asahi asked.

"Renato doesn't realize it yet, but Sawada Tsunayoshi is unconscious and has our son wrapped around his little finger." Kaun smiled completely amused by the idea. Then her expression hardened. "The Tri-Ni-Set is causing the issue. Sawada-kun's soul is being torn apart; our son is anchoring him down, which I don't like by the way. The mafia doesn't have shape training and due the compatibility of your and Renato's Flames, you should be able to echo and support Renato's anchors."

That was… _well._ Asahi had his work cut out for him.

"We also may have to fake Sawada-kun's death because according to Renato, Sawada-kun doesn't want to be Decimo," Kaun finished off plainly.

_Oh._

Ah, that was what Kaun meant. Renato had never asked that before for anyone. Wrapped around Sawada-kun's little finger indeed.

"Hmm, I see much has happened after you left last night," Asahi said. "I assume you want me to swap out with Renato after this."

Kaun nodded. "The stress of the Sun Pacifier is heavy," she said, her expression dark. "It's not something I want to chance."

Asahi quieted the wave of rage that flooded him at the mention of the Sun Pacifier. Kaun had, predictably, exploded upon the news of Renato inheriting the Sun Pacifier. Asahi… Asahi stewed in his anger.

"And our long-term plans?" Asahi asked. Kaun always had plans and he had left her alone long enough for her to plot away.

"Well, given our son's attachment, I assume we'll be watching over Sawada-kun's recovery," Kaun said. She took another bite of her breakfast before pouring some coffee out of a thermos for herself. "We'll have to resolve the Arcobaleno Curse soon too. So once Renato can bare to be separate from Sawada-kun, I'll run tests."

Busy then. Asahi sipped his green tea. "And the others?"

Kaun's black eyes narrowed just a fraction. "I promised to play nice with Renato's friends. The others, Dino-kun aside, remain to be seen."

Well, that was the best he was going to get out of his wife. Asahi learned to pick his battles. Convincing his wife not to cause chaos was a losing fight. It was far better to simply direct her towards a more acceptable target then to actually contain it.

"Try not to break them," Asahi said dryly. There weren't that many dumping grounds in Namimori.

"No promises."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaun and Asahi plot and plans are made. Damage control is under way. xD
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	14. Chapter 14

"Reborn?" Dino said, sticking his head into Tsuna's room, waiting patiently to come in. Upon the revelation of who Asahi and Kaun might be to Reborn, the entire room volunteered Dino to ask the hitman for the truth. Dino was a bit miffed at that. It was like they were volunteering him as an acceptable sacrifice. Just because Dino was Reborn's student, it didn't offer any additional protection against Reborn's temper. In fact, it made it worse in Dino's opinion.

No matter. Dino wanted to know for himself too.

"Come in," Reborn said, not looking at him.

Dino stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. There was a weariness that Dino wasn't used to seeing in his former tutor's form, a tension that no one save Dino noticed. He couldn't blame Reborn either. Everyone was stressed out by what had happened to Tsuna.

"You look terrible, Dino," Reborn announced, eyes never leaving Tsuna's form. The room glowed yellow, lit by Reborn's Flames. "You should be resting."

Brutal to a fault and straight to the point with just a touch of concern. Dino couldn't help but grin. Plenty of people wondered why Dino continued to drop everything whenever Reborn called, thinking that somehow the World's Greatest Hitman had brainwashed him or some version of Stockholm Syndrome.

Honestly though, Reborn was family (the exact relationship, Dino couldn't really remark on, but family nevertheless). Dino came running because he knew Reborn would return the favor, if Dino ever needed it.

"I met Asahi," Dino remarked. "He looks remarkably like you. Or, maybe it's the other way, you look remarkably like him."

A smirk curled on Reborn's lips, a sure sign of a secret he knew, one he would dangle in front of Dino, just to see his reaction. "And what of it?" Reborn asked.

Unlike other people, Dino could read his tutor fairly well. Upon meeting Asahi and Kaun, others would have stopped at the revelation that these were Reborn's parents. It was obvious when they sent him to ask Reborn about it.

Dino on the other hand had been taught by his tutor to read in between the lines. Now that he had a moment to think it through, it was easy to see. It went much deeper than the fact that Reborn had been born to normal parents. "You take after your mother, but look like your father," he said. "Their real names aren't Asahi and Kaun, the same way yours isn't really Reborn. And they aren't part of the mafia."

That was an important distinction. If Kaun was anything like her son, it would have been impossible to not hear about her. She had only been here for a few short hours and Dino already knew she was force of nature that couldn't be stopped.

But Dino had never heard of her. Which meant they weren't actively apart of the mafia world. At least not part of the Italian one, but his famiglia, while not as big as Vongola, was still big enough that Dino would have heard her if she operated in another underworld. At least, that what he thought, given who exactly Kaun was.

So… at one point Reborn had been a civilian. He hadn't been born into the dark world that Dino had been like Dino originally believed.

It made a lot of sense when Dino thought about it.

Reborn hid it well, but there was bleeding golden heart under all that chaos. That same softness that Dino's father indulged in him, a softness that would have stamped out in any other person born into the mafia. It was made those who were civilian born stand out in the crowd.

"Correct," Reborn said.

Dino beamed.

"And what do you intend to do with that knowledge?" Reborn asked mildly.

Testing. Testing how far Dino's loyalty extended. If Dino wasn't so familiar with Reborn's paranoia, he would have been insulted.

"Nothing. Well, I'll confirm that they're your parents because I will be mobbed by everyone outside," Dino cheerfully answered. "Even if I didn't, you look too much like Asahi to ignore."

"Hmm, Kaasan will stop them if you want her to."

Olive branch. Dino filed away the information, reading what Reborn had revealed to him in that simple sentence. Kaasan. If that was how he addressed his mother, that meant Reborn didn't grow up in Italy as Dino had originally assume. He grew up in Japan. Dino was learning more about his tutor today then all the years he spent learning under him.

"How is Tsuna doing?" Dino asked, looking at his little brother.

"Better," Reborn said.

That was true. Dino looked closer, noticing the twisting pain had faded from Tsuna's brow and he looked as if he was just sleeping. The steady rise and fall of Tsuna's chest under Reborn's yellow flames was a relief to see. He felt hope swell in his chest.

"So, what caused it?" Dino asked.

"Kaun suspects it to be the Tri-Ni-Set from the Future-That-Never-Will-Be," Reborn said. "That his soul was being torn apart, tugging between there and now."

Dino was at a loss of words. "How was that possible?" he asked.

"Tri-Ni-Set is powerful," Reborn said simply.

"He'll be okay?" Dino asked, worried. How did one fight against a powerful from another dimension?

"If I have any say in it," Reborn said. He looked at Dino. "Rest Dino. You're going to fall over."

Dino sank down in the nearby empty chair. He wasn't willing to leave the room. If Reborn was willing to let him stay, then Dino would stay. He let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes, trying to relax.

Everything would be fine. It had to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do like Dino and Reborn's relationship. It's a nice thing to poke at. 
> 
> Also some bonus trivia:  
> This is probably completely wrong as I’m nowhere near a native speaker level. But I headcanon that Reborn/Renato’s name is written as 練迹
> 
> 練 (ren) = polish/refine/practice/gloss  
> 迹 (ato) = impression/mark
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	15. Chapter 15

Kaun was smiling as she and her husband headed back into the waiting room area. Asahi's cooking was always wonderful and it never failed to put her into a good mood. She supposed she could behave nicely, per Asahi's request. As long as no one annoyed her, it should be doable.

She could hear Asahi letting out a soft huff, clearly knowing that Kaun's promise to behave only extended so far. Her husband knew her well.

Asahi wandered first into the waiting room area, most likely to distract everyone so that Kaun could stroll through it, not bothered. So Kaun passed through the waiting room area without an incident, heading straight back to Sawada-kun's room.

As she opened the door, she froze.

"ASAHI!" she roared. She ran inside, grabbing Reborn from Sawada's chest. Dino, who had been sleeping in the corner, fell out his chair as Asahi came rushing in. Her husband instantly knew exactly what she needed. Sun Flames sprung to life as he took Reborn's place.

"What's wrong?" Dino asked, bewildered.

Reborn looked at her, equally concerned.

Kaun took a deep breath and wrestled for control. Always, _always_ , she had been in control of her emotions. It was expected nothing less than her; it was what her Sky had needed from her. Having a child had changed all of that. She would never tell him, but ever since Renato had been born, she had been, by her definition, emotionally irrational. It was quite annoying.

Having him cradled in her arms, small and tiny as if he had just been born again was terrifying and sent her into an overprotective rage. It didn't matter how old Renato was actually, this was her son.

And something was _wrong_.

It wasn't something she was confident she could fix, mostly because she wasn't sure where it could have gone wrong in the first place. Reborn had cut off contact with them for years. When had it happened and why didn't he say anything? She taught him better than that.

"The black spots," she said stiffly, forcing calm forward. "Why didn't you see the black spots Reborn?"

Reborn froze in her arms. It was a minute tell, one that only she had recognized having raised him.

"What black spots?" Dino asked.

"Black spots," Kaun repeated. "Black spots on the soul. Reborn, you were pouring too much Sun Flames into Sawada-kun. Enough to burn. You never had issues with control before. _Why didn't you see it_?"

Her eyes darted back towards Sawada-kun. His pastel orange aura which was wriggling in pain, being smoothed out by Asahi's pastel yellow. The black spots, horrifying to see, slowly beginning to fade as Asahi patched them. She looked back at Dino, pastel orange as well and so very small and wrung out, before setting back on Renato. Her son's aura, the soft pastel yellow now carrying jagged scars that she hated with passion.

Kaun's family line has always been able to see soul auras. The pure white of the innocent and ignorant. The pastel colors of Dying Will Flames. The corruption of the twisted. The dying, the young, and tortured. The bonds that tied others together. As her son, Renato had inherited that gift.

Renato hunched in her arms, the same way he used to when he was still young enough to be afraid of nightmares and thunderstorms.

"I haven't been able to see auras since the Arcobaleno Curse was inflicted on me," Reborn admitted.

Deep down inside of Kaun, something snapped before a frigid cold rage engulfed her. Her killer intent poured out of her as she clenched her teeth.

"I am going to kill him," she vowed, whispered so quietly. Ice fire running through her veins. "I am going to kill him."

"Kaasan?"

"He knows, he knows you're my son and still he inflicted this curse on you. Now you're telling his curse has robbed you of our gift?"

That was simply unacceptable. Just what did he think he was doing? Did he think she wouldn't take offense?

"You know the Man in the Iron Hat?" Reborn asked her.

"Of course, I do!" Kaun snapped. "He's your uncle!"

" _What._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know those last three lines is what started this entire plunny. The reference in Chapter 6 about Reborn being unable to see is this. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out!


	16. Chapter 16

Two Truths and a Lie:

1) Kaun was immortal

2) Kaun was a doctor

3) Kaun and Kawahira are siblings

Do you see the lie?

**Partially Truth:** Kaun was immortal

Kaun didn't just look like she was 27. She was permanently 27 and had been for centuries, millenniums, really.

Her race had long lives; they would die one day, but it stretched beyond normal human lifespans by millenniums. Until the plague had come, wiping them out one until the number of survivors could be counted on one hand. Today, there were three of them left, not counting children, descendants and Asahi who was a special case himself.

(She loved Asahi enough to offer to tie their souls together for all eternity. Asahi loved her enough to say yes. She loved him even more for not letting her walk through the rest of eternity alone.)

**Partially Truth:** Kaun was a doctor

Kaun really was a doctor. While she hadn't done so in Namimori, she usually opened a small clinic wherever they had settled. Her love for medicine was born from wanting to never be helplessly clueless about a disease again.

But it was not her real job.

Kaun's real job dealt with soul maintenance. Her job was basically to maintain the cycles of life and death and make sure it was running smoothly. Unlike a certain Mist, she was very good at her job. Do you hear people complaining about it? No? That was the whole point.

There were cycles that required maintenance and support, to ensure life on Earth would continue smoothly. These cycles could run on their own, but things often went awry when there wasn't someone present to run the thing in the background.

For example, the current issue with global warming? Kaun wasn't a Rain who had the subtle calming nature need to maintain weather patterns and fix itself. She ought to teach herself it soon though. It was becoming a bigger issue with each passing year. Someone would need to look at it. The problem was that she was one person and she had to deal with Kawahira being an idiot first.

**Lie:** Kaun and Kawahira are siblings

Kaun and Kawahira are not siblings. They share no blood ties. They're not even friends. But they do know each other and share a connection that could not be denied.

They were Earthlings, the last guardians and protectors of Earth and the Tri-Ni-Set. They were Cloud and Mist under one Sky. They could consider each other as family, despite the lack of blood ties. The kind you acknowledged, distantly, and sent an invitation for family dinner every year, but always hoped they would never showed up. Despite looking physically older than her, in Kaun's eyes, Kawahira would forever be the bratty younger brother. After all she was older than Kawahira by a few centuries.

Kawahira was, like most younger brothers in the eyes of older siblings, an annoyance, throwing tantrums and wanting attention. Always wanting to be treated as an adult, but in the face of actual responsibility, failed and crumbled, leaving Kaun to clean up his mess.

Like the maintenance of the Tri-Ni-Set. That should have been the easiest job of all the cycles that needed maintenance and Kaun was finding out now that Kawahira was screwing up.

Her son should have never been an acceptable sacrifice. Kaun didn't care how many human Kawahira had to sacrifice. They were plenty in abundance, forever causing problems. It should be easy to find a few willing to martyr themselves. She was impartial about humans herself; the number of humans she actually liked over the years didn't even hit triple digits.

The Tri-Ni-Set's current system was born in desperation. The first Arcobaleno had been more than willing to make that sacrifice, friends of her Rain. Humans that understood the importance of the Tri-Ni-Set and agreed to be the stopgap. Kawahira had plenty of time, had decades, had centuries to fix the cycle as it was his job. To find a way that wouldn't so… twist the souls of humans.

Even if he couldn't, her son should have never been an acceptable choice. Even if Renato had willingly offered it (and it certainly didn't sound like it), they were family. With so few of them left, Kawahira should have never chosen Renato. Not when they were stretched so thin as they already were.

"Kaasan?" Reborn looked at her with wide eyes, looking as young as his current body was.

She grit her teeth, feeling the simmering anger run under her skin. Her fingers twitched, wanting to shot something, destroy and rampage. She wanted her Rain's calming influence, but he had been dead for centuries, like the others. She wanted her Sky's patience, but she was gone. She wanted Asahi's support, but he was busy.

Instead, she grounded herself with Renato's presence, with Dino who was family in a different way.

Kawahira had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

So the reference to Kaun was 'something' back in Chapter 2, here you go. lol Kaun and Kawahira get along the same way Hibari and Mukuro do (that is, they don't). -bounces- We're picking up speed here. See you in two weeks. :3

Please leave a review on your way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the reference to Kaun was 'something' back in Chapter 2, here you go. lol Kaun and Kawahira get along the same way Hibari and Mukuro do (that is, they don't). -bounces- We're picking up speed here. See you in two weeks. :3
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	17. Chapter 17

It was so odd to see his mother like this. Reborn had seen her angry before, but never like this. Never this deep betrayed hurt, this frigid cold fire, this dark bitterness.

Kaun had handed him off to Dino, who confusedly accepted Reborn. Reborn didn't leave his former student's arms, watching instead how his mother pace back and forth like a caged tiger.

"I don't understand," Dino admitted, looking at him.

If it had been anyone but Dino (and Tsuna), Reborn would have never explained it. But he was fond of Dino because of reasons, so he was willing to tell him. "Kaun is an immortal. So is Asahi," Reborn said.

Dino's eyes widened in shock. "Oh. Are you really a personification of chaos then?"

No matter how fond he was of Dino, sometimes Reborn wondered what was going through his head. "No."

"But still immortal?"

"If I choose to be."

Because Asahi was, technically, human and Kaun was an Earthling, technically that made Renato half human, half Earthling. Given the way he had rapidly aged from an Earthling's point of view or rather had grown normally like a human child, they had discovered that currently, Renato's body was human. It was why he didn't stop aging like his mother had done so. But the potential was there, the family quirk that if Renato had chosen so, he could have been as immortal as his parents.

It wasn't really something he wanted. It was selfish of him. There were so few of his mother's people left that it all but guaranteed that Reborn would be mostly alone. It sounded boring.

But his mother had mentioned that curing the Arcobaleno Curse might trigger his immortality, so he supposed it was a small price to pay.

"And… there's a curse on you?" Dino tentatively asked.

The Arcobaleno were the strongest out there. It had, over the years, become an unspoken topic. One did not question how the Arcobaleno came about, who selected them, why they were babies, or what the actual details were. Most assumed it was some sort of secret, but Reborn knew it was mostly due to shame.

(Who wanted to admit that they were tricked into being a sacrifice, that they weren't willing to become babies for some sort of powerful trade off but actually because they were offerings as living batteries?)

"I didn't willingly accept to become a baby," Reborn said, and left the explanation at that.

Dino wisely didn't push for more. He simply nodded and moved onto the next fact. "And your uncle was the one who cursed you."

"I didn't know that," Reborn said. He didn't. He wasn't even aware that his mother had a sibling.

"That," Kaun said, whirling around like a tempest. "Is because the idiot never wanted to come and meet you. Not willing to babysit, didn't like children, he said. He cannot claim ignorance that he didn't know who you were. I sent him New Year Cards every year and I know he opened them." She continued to pace, muttering in exact detail how she was going to murder the Man in the Iron Hat.

In hindsight, Reborn probably should have seen this coming. He had known there was something different about the Man in the Iron Hat, familiar but not. Given he had met only one of the remaining survivors from his mother's race, this wasn't too surprising, but he should have seen it coming.

Why didn't he just go home after getting cursed? His parents would have sorted this mess out years ago. Damn his pride.

"Breathe Kaun," Asahi called out, still focused on Tsuna.

"I'm perfectly calm," Kaun snapped.

"Is everything alright in here?"

Reborn spotted Aria in the doorway. She was finally awake it seemed. Exhaustion still clearly reflected on her face, clinging to her like a disease. She had collapsed into a deep slumber before Dino had swapped in for the third time. So worn and tired, she never looked as much as Luce as she did now.

"Hello Aria," Reborn greeted. His heart clenched at the familiar reminder of how Luce had wasted away. It was upsetting to see Aria resemble that.

She smiled at him, tiredly.

"Everything is fine," Kaun said flippantly, barely paying any attention to Aria as she continued to pace.

"Hello, I'm Aria, Boss of the Giglio Nero Famiglia," Aria introduced herself, stepping into the room.

"Shouhen Kaun," Kaun stiffly replied, coming to a stop. Her eyes stared at the orange pacifier hanging from Aria's neck.

"She is also the Sky Arcobaleno," Reborn answered his mother's unasked question.

The temperature of the room dropped into freezing cold again. "I am not only going to kill him, I am to tear his soul apart," Kaun said. "He dared. He dared to touch her line? Bad enough my child, but her line?"

Purple flames began to materialized, dancing on the edges of the room. Even Reborn had to steady himself against the onslaught of his mother's killing intent, so thick and heavy, it was suffocating.

"Kaun!" Asahi shouted. "Reborn get her out of here. Sawada-kun does not need this right now."

Reborn jumped from Dino's arms to his mother. Leon transformed into a whip, wrapping around Kaun's wrist and with a simple tug, he was able to guide his mother out of Tsuna's room. Thankfully, she didn't fight him, following him out but still seething the entire way.

They reached the gardens with ease. Kaun grit her teeth, snarling.

"Watch her," Reborn told Dino, slipping back to the waiting room.

It was still as crowded as when Reborn had been hauled off by his mother. Most likely several people had left and come back. Tsuna's Guardians and friends were huddled together, supporting each other (well Hibari was apart from them and Chrome was present, not Mukuro.) Nana was thankfully still gone as was Nono, Reborn didn't want to deal with those two.

Most importantly, the Varia were still here. "Xanxus," Reborn called out.

"What, trash?" Xanxus snarled at him.

"Does your team and you want to let loose some steam?" Reborn asked. "Kaun is on a rampage and needs to punch something."

Hibari sat up straight as did the rest of the Varia. Bloodthirsty lot, but Reborn was counting on that.

"Why us?" Xanxus asked, a touch curious.

"Because it needs to be people who are strong enough to give her a challenge but impossible to kill because she isn't going to hold back. Tsuna's Guardians are too inexperienced and she's in no mindset to go easy on them and any Arcobaleno I set on her is going to incite her rage further. Viper, for that reason, don't join in," Reborn said.

"Fine," Xanxus said, rising. He stalked off, the rest of his team, minus Viper, were on his heels. The sounds of gunshots soon filled the air. That would keep Kaun busy for now.

"Hibari, you can join in if you want," Reborn said. Hibari was already down the hall at those words. Reborn pinned the remainder of Tsuna's Guardians with a sharp glare. "The rest of you are barred from joining. Kaun is currently capable of shattering your bones to dust and won't be bothered to fix it. This is not a life or death situation. You can ask for a spar from her later if you want, when she isn't ready to snap people's necks."

They visibly backed down. Good.

"Reborn," Lal started.

Reborn cut her off. "Aria is awake. Check on her."

He would deal with the rest later. Right now, his father had some answers he needed to know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaun's reached her boiling point and secrets left and right are spilling out. Haha
> 
> See you in two weeks. ;3 please leave a review on your way out!


	18. Chapter 18

"Tousan."

Asahi turn his head back to see Reborn in the doorway. It had been a long time since Asahi had seen that type of anger from Kaun. It was rare and he had wondered what exactly had triggered it. Thankfully, it appeared Sawada-kun didn't appear to be all that affected by Kaun's corresive killing intent.

"Reborn," Asahi greeted his son. "Where is Kaun?"

"Currently beating up the Varia in the gardens outside," Reborn replied. "How is Tsuna?"

"The damage wasn't that bad, but my ability to see the soul isn't as sharp as yours or Kaun's," Asahi said. He had gained the ability by marrying Kaun, a bleed over bonus. Sawada-kun's soul appeared to be fine; the black spots already fading. "Can you tell me if I missed anything?"

Silence.

Asahi's attention turned back to his son. "Renato?"

"You missed that conversation since you were busy stabilizing Tsuna," Reborn said flatly. "I can't see soul auras. I haven't been able to since I got the Arcobaleno Curse."

Asahi drew in a sharp breath. "Oh. That… that explains why your mother is so angry."

"The man responsible for cursing me is Kaasan's brother?" Reborn asked. He climbed up to the bed, sitting next to Tsuna's stilled body, watching his father pour Sun Flames into Tsuna.

"They're not related," Asahi said. "In fact your mother will be quite insulted if you imply it. But he is, in a way, still family. The same way the rest of the Arcobaleno are your siblings, bonds forged by experience, pain, love and time."

Kaun rarely ever talked about Kawahira. There was some bad blood, Asahi had guess, or possibly the simple way any Cloud and Mist got under each other's nerves. If anything their conflicting personalities just meant they didn't get along. But they were some of the last of their race and that was a connection neither of them were willing to give up no matter how much they hated each other.

It had been decades since Asahi had actually seen Kawahira. They had met a handful of times. The first was at the wedding where he loudly disapproved of Asahi. They met since then, every so often when Kaun hauled him back to their place, instead of invading Kawahira's place. The house always needed repairs after that, but it was, to loosely put it, nice to see Kawahira.

Asahi knew Kaun probably kept a closer eye than what she actually showed, if only because she was completely exasperated with him and 'saving his ass' was something she did as his 'older sister'. As an only child, Asahi couldn't relate, but knew better than to interfere with them.

He didn't pretend to understand the madness that was their relationship.

Still, for Kawahira's Arcobaleno Curse to take his son's ability to see souls away… To say that was a bad thing, didn't really cover the issue. Kaun never really spoke of it and Asahi didn't know if it was true to all Earthlings or just Kaun's line, but as far as Asahi knew, vision was something extremely important to Earthlings. The ability to see souls was a pride and joy for Kaun. She had been so happy when it manifested in Renato, half worried that it wouldn't have.

For Renato to have lost that ability… fondness and family ties aside, Kaun was going to kill Kawahira. Asahi wasn't sure if he would be able to actually deter her.

(He wasn't sure he wanted to.)

(Renato was his son too.)

"She also got upset when she met Aria," Reborn said.

"Who?" Asahi asked.

"Aria. She's the ninth boss of Giglio Nero, and Luce's daughter. Luce was the Sky Arcobaleno with me and when she died Aria inherited it," Reborn said.

A chill ran down Asahi's spine. No. He wouldn't have. Kawahira wouldn't have dared. "Giglio Nero? Black Lily? She wouldn't happen to have black hair and blue eyes," Asahi asked, hoping desperately that he misheard his son.

Reborn looked at his father. "Yes. She also has the emblem of Giglio Nero tattooed on her cheek."

Asahi's mouth dropped open and his flames flickered in his surprise before he automatically corrected himself. That was… He desperately hoped Kaun hadn't killed anyone in retaliation to that information. Asahi couldn't stop her if he was stuck helping Sawada-kun.

"How do you two know Aria?" Reborn asked.

"The more important question is how did Kaun handle that information?" Asahi asked.

The hospital was still standing. There hadn't been any crippling explosions he could hear, only normal gunshots and crashes. He assumed that while she was probably pissed off, she had contained it.

"That's why she's outside beating up the Varia. She was furious," Reborn said. "You're not answering the questions, Tousan."

"Aria, and Luce, are the descendants of Sepira," Asahi said, tone heavy and weary. He closed his eyes, remembering the quiet nights when Kaun told him about her. "Sepira was your mother's Sky. The man who cursed you, Kawahira, she was his Sky as well."

Skies were so important to their elements. Everything, even significant others, came secondary to one's Sky. It was double edged sword. Maybe, _maybe_ , Kawahira hated Kaun just enough that he wouldn't bat an eyelash at the idea of using Renato. Maybe it was some sort of delusion that he was helping Kaun by forcing Renato to activate that family quirk of immortality. There was just enough bad blood between them that Asahi could think of more than enough reasons why Kawahira had gone ahead and cursed Renato.

But Sepira's line. If there was one thing that Kaun and Kawahira could agree upon, it was about their Sky. That Kawahira would think it was acceptable to target Sepira's descendants, it was unthinkable and so unlike the man that Asahi had come to known.

Just what had Kawahira been thinking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A small time headcanon for this fic is that Earthlings had different vision ability. Sepira's line had the ability to see the future, Kaun's line to see souls and while it wasn't set in stone, Kawahira's was the ability to see potential.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. :3


	19. Chapter 19

Kaun loved and hated her Sky.

Sepira was always a gentle influence. Kaun remembered a time, after the humans had grown and spread across the entire world, it was expected for a woman to remain quiet, soft, and weak. As humans forgot about flames, forgot about how gender didn't matter, forgot about the strength of willpower, forgot about Earthlings, Kaun felt the world grow more and more restrictive, binding and cold.

It rebelled against everything she was.

Sepira welcomed her chaotic nature, her razor-sharp warrior skills, her sharp tongue and frigid heart. She smiled when Kaun's acidic words were sharp and cutting, never minding the way she always spoke her mind. She laughed when Kaun snarled and destroyed anything that stood against her. She never chained Kaun down, letting her freely come and go.

Kaun was proud to be Sepira's Cloud.

So why did Sepira _abandon_ them?!

Centuries after laying Sepira to rest, Kaun was still trying to wrap her mind around it, still reeling from the betray of being disregard. There were no answers. Back then, they had five. They had created the Pacifiers in an attempt to help the system as the five of them could no longer could support the Tri-Ni-Set anymore.

The vision that hit Sepira the following night changed her Sky. The future sight ability of Sepira's line was one of the most brutal ability an Earthling could inherit. Every vision left Sepira broken in a way that none of her Elements could comfort her. This vision was no different. Somewhere, somehow, Sepira had gone and split the remaining half of the Tri-Ni-Set into Rings, passing one set to a human male with blond hair and orange eyes ( _Giotto_ ). She took the last set of Rings and vanished into the night.

Kawahira, the youngest, arguably took it the worse. If Kaun had been of a weaker person, she would have collapsed from it.

They would find Sepira years later, old and worn and undoubtedly _human_. They found her on her deathbed. Just long enough for her to weakly apologize and say goodbye.

Kaun never hated the fact that she had inherited the cycles of souls. Duty was duty and she watched as her Sky entered that cycle of rebirth. Then the four of them scattered to the wind, without a Sky to tie them together.

If she found countries that were at war and enlisted so she could just raze everything to the ground, that was her secret and her secret alone.

Meeting Asahi had been a godsend. There weren't enough words to describe the healing Kaun had found in Asahi. (Her Sun had been dead, before Sepira even passed. The gentle damning healing heart meant she fell first to same illness that took Kaun's entire race, like every other Sun before her.)

Kaun had spent the years after Sepira's death, piecing together her life, trying to understand how she could possibly go on without her Sky. Asahi wasn't a Sky, wasn't _her_ Sky, but he filled that hole that Sepira had left behind.

Then Renato was born.

Kaun could have said she was happy. She was. Bound in a completely different way, with different chains, but comfortable. She had a family, married and a child, something she never thought it was going to happen. For once, the grief of losing Sepira, of losing her race was lost in the chaos as she tried to keep up with Renato growing so fast every single day.

Then Renato had to announce that he wanted to join the Italian Mafia and her heart shattered in a new way. Kaun couldn't even look at the Italian Mafia, not with the way she knew Kawahira slithering in the shadows, not with Giotto's Vongola growing darker and twisting Sepira's gift, not with Giglio Nero, _Sepira's descendants_ , still going strong.

Renato inherited all of her stubbornness and no matter how much Kaun threatened and yelled, he still left.

(She ignored the sinking feeling of being abandoned again, like history was repeating. As she said, emotionally irrational.)

Then she learned her son had been cursed by Kawahira. Kaun had been so angry. There had been no excuse. Even if Kawahira hadn't met Renato in person, she sent family photos and short letters to him all the time. Every time she dragged him over to her house or went over to his, she would tell him about her son. Sepira would have been so disappointed if they simply stopped speaking to each other, so she continued to seek Kawahira out even if he didn't want her to.

She knew each photo and letter was pinned to the wall in his house. The bastard had no excuse. He couldn't claim ignorance.

He certainly had no excuse to using Sepira's descendants either.

_BOOM!_

Kaun dodged the Sky Flame bullets that rained down on her head, grabbing hold of the lightning crackling umbrella and hurling it at the shooter. She drove a knee into the stomach of the blond crown wearing prince and fired off a bullet that multiple in five with a flash of purple flames over his shoulder at the silver haired swordsman. She grabbed the blond's wrist as he tried to stab her with a knife and twisted, hearing an audible snap.

She fired off another four bullets, allowing them to be buried into the ground. Twirling around, she took aim at the umbrellas that currently surrounded her and took each one out. The Muay Thai user threw a punch. Kaun slide past his attack, burying a bullet in his shoulder.

Kaun vaulted over Sawada-kun's Cloud and blocked the sword lunge. Her free hand grabbed another gun, shooting back at Sawada-kun's Cloud. The single bullet multiplied in a burst of purple flames, piercing her fellow Cloud in the arms and legs. A kick to the chin, sent the swordsman stumbling. Without any hesitation, she shot him in the legs, crippling him from attacking any further. She punched the now umbrella-less user knocking him out.

A Sky Flame bullet nicked her leg, ruining her hakama. She turned the favor, unleashing a Chaos Shot. The four bullets shot skyward, shooting down the Sky.

With that final crash, all of the Varia and Sawada-kun's Cloud were now down for the count. Kaun took a deep breath, anger still simmering under her skin and forced it back. She gritted her teeth and braced herself. There was still work to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bonus Trivia: the title, Try to Picture Me Without You (but I can't), not only applies to Reborn and Tsuna but also to Kaun and Kawahira with Sepira. Kaun managed to piece herself together, but Kawahira didn't and the way they reacted showed how deeply it broke them. The fact the lyric is from Immortals by Fallout Boy was extra bonus, given the nature of immortality and death in regards to Earthlings.
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	20. Chapter 20

There was silence after the last crash signaled that the fight between Kaun and the Varia had ended. Asahi shooed Reborn out the door, asking for him to check on his mother.

Reborn was going to do that anyways. Unleashing Kaun on everyone else, while endlessly hilarious, was headache inducing and Reborn had enough to juggle. He had a list of acceptable targets if his mother was still simmering with rage. Reborn also had Shamal on the sidelines, waiting to look over the wounds Kaun undoubtedly inflicted on the Varia.

Kaun walked in, more relaxed than she had left, but there was still fire burning in her black eyes. Reborn noted her hakama was a shade lighter and the pattern of her purple kosode had shifted. She had quick-changed somewhere. To the average person, she walked out of that fight without a single hair out of place. Not true, but one should never look nothing less than impeccable.

Wisely, everyone had scattered out of her way. Well the ones with any sort of common sense.

"Wao~" Byakuran said as he sent a still tired Daisy with Shamal outside to check up on the Varia. "You're very scary."

Kaun shot a bullet at him, jaw still clenched tight. Byakuran dodged it with a laugh.

Reborn wished he could summon up the energy to be irritated, but honestly this was an entire basket case that he really wished he could wash his hands of. It was currently approaching two in the afternoon, a good sixteen hours since his mother first arrived. This meant the people who were worried about Tsuna, those who had gone to rest, had started to come back, still worried and concerned.

A few of them had missed his father's appearance (both the first and second time), but no one had missed Kaun's curbstomped battle with the Varia and Hibari outside.

If nothing else, it was that fight that made Colonnello finally believe that Kaun really was the one who taught him.

Still, there was Aria and the revelation of his mother's Sky that Reborn had to deal with. Nana arrived at the hospital, still looking distraught. Tensions were still boiling at an all-time high. Really, what Reborn needed was everyone to be on the same page and for people to stop bothering his parents.

(He was not going to be responsible if his mother decided to put every single person who annoyed her in the hospital.)

"Is… is Tsu-kun going to be alright?" Nana asked.

Reborn had to admit, Nana was always the right kind of fearless whenever he needed her to be. With any luck, his mother was in a good enough mood to answer Nana's question and everyone could stop asking Reborn for updates on Tsuna's health.

"Eight more hours until we know for sure," Kaun swiftly answered. "It was touch and go earlier. It may still be touch and go after the twenty-four window. But… if your son wakes after the twenty-four window passes or wakes up around then, that's a good sign. Still, no complications so far."

Except for Reborn's screw up. Of course, his mother wouldn't mention that.

"There's a chance he won't wake, slipping into a coma," Kaun continued on. "But odds are he will recover. It will simply be long term."

There was a sigh of relief from everyone in the room. Reborn didn't blame them. Kaun hadn't exactly come outside to explain it to any of them. It was reassuring to hear it that Tsuna would for the most part make a full recovery.

"Are you really Reborn's mother, kora?" Colonnello asked, ruining the moment.

Clearly, Colonnello had a death wish.

Kaun gave him a flat look as Reborn fired a bullet. Colonnello dodged the bullet and shouted out. "Asahi looks exactly like you, kora! And they're married! C'mon I wanna know! You always said your parents were dead."

"I had thought the same," Nono said.

No. Reborn was not having this conversation. Not now. Preferably not ever.

"Is there anything else about your friends and co-workers I should know about?" Kaun asked sourly, choosing to ignore the conversation and forcibly changing the subject.

"You should meet Lal," Reborn said. Skull too, but that for another reason. But Lal was a bit of an odd situation, given her corrupted pacifier. He wasn't sure about the cure his mother had mentioned and if it would work for Lal's particular case.

"Lead the way," Kaun said.

"But," Iemitsu started.

Kaun simply threw him over her shoulder, clearly fed up and no longer tolerating questions. And people wondered why Reborn took after his mother.

Time to find Lal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Byakuran, Colonnello don't poke the angry Cloud. -exasperated-
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out.


	21. Chapter 21

Lal was still with Aria in the separate room where Aria had originally been resting in. Gamma was surprisingly absent. Aria herself still looked exhausted despite the rest she had received. Dark circles under her eyes and hair unkempt, she radiated with weariness. Even Lal looked at her concerned.

Reborn and Kaun entered the room. The rest of the Arcobaleno were gathered at the doorway, shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Hello Aria," Reborn greeted.

"Hello Reborn," she said tiredly. Aria smiled at Kaun. "Hello Kaun."

"Hello," Kaun said stiffly.

Reborn threw her a discreet glance of concern. It was disquieting to see how many different sides of his mother he was seeing today. Before today he had never seen her so uncomfortable and while the grief was old and worn, it was intense, a result no doubt of the bad memories resurfacing. For once, Renato hated the fact that he knew so little of his own mother's history.

"I'm sorry, did you know my mother?" Aria asked. "You had said 'her line' when we first met."

"No. I'm sorry, I didn't have the chance to meet your mother," Kaun said. Aria didn't say anything as Kaun looked away.

"This is Lal Mirch," Reborn interjected, changing the subject, knowing that his mother didn't want to discuss it. "She was originally the candidate for the Rain Arcobaleno before Colonnello accidentally switched with her."

"Hello," Lal said warily. She gave Reborn a questioning look as Kaun scrutinize her. Reborn merely shrugged at her and let his mother do as she pleased. If he had retained his ability to see soul aura he might be able to read what his mother was seeing, but since he couldn't it wasn't like he could even explain it to Lal.

"Which one is Colonnello?" Kaun asked.

"Colonnello get in here," Reborn barked.

"What the hell, kora? You keep sidestepping everyone's questions," Colonnello complained, entering the room. He squawked as Kaun picked him off the ground. "Hey! Put me down, kora!"

"Just let her do as she please Colonnello," Reborn said, irritated.

"What is she looking for?" Verde asked. The rest of the Arcobaleno had taken Reborn's words as an open invitation to all barge into the room.

"Is she really your mother, senpai?" Skull asked.

"Or perhaps Asahi is a cousin? You two look remarkably alike," Fon mused.

"I should charge her for the medical bills for the damage she did the rest of the Varia," Viper complained.

And this was exactly what Reborn wanted to avoid when it came to his parents. There was simply no real way to explain them and people insisted on asking so many questions.

"It should be fine," Kaun announced as she put Colonnello back down. He grumbled and glared at her, but Kaun ignored it. "Breaking the curse on Colonnello will bleed over and remove the curse from Lal Mirch," she said.

The room fell into silence for a single beat and before everyone exploded.

"What do you mean?!"

"The curse can be broken, kora?"

"Do you know how to break the curse!"

"What the hell!"

"Enough," Aria's voice cut through the noise, strong and firm. She pinned Kaun with a sharp look. "Do you know how to break the Arcobaleno Curse?"

"Theoretically speaking yes," Kaun said. "We have a solution and the means has been constructed. I would like to run some more tests. There shouldn't be any side effects, but it's hard to predict. If it does succeed there weren't be any need for the Arcobaleno in the future as well." She paused and grimaced. "But, you Aria, the nature of the Sky Arcobaleno and your family history will require us to speak in greater deeper. The odds of it triggering is small, but you still carry the same potential."

"You never did explain how it was going to be broken," Reborn mentioned mildly, taking advantage of everyone's stunned confusion.

"Talbot is creating a device that will feed the pacifiers with a much smaller flame draw like an electrical amplifier," Kaun said offhandedly.

An image of a blinded man in tattered robes immediately rose into Reborn's mind. "Uncle Bot?" he said before he could stop himself, letting it slip out in surprise.

The rest of the room interrupted into clamor but Reborn steadfastly ignored them. The amused look on his mother's face was not helping.

"Yes, Uncle Bot," Kaun said wryly. "See unlike a certain other idiot, he actually comes around and visits and doesn't do stupid things."

The last survivor of the Earthling race was Talbot, the Lightning. The oldest of the three, Talbot was, in Reborn's memories, closer to a great uncle then an actual uncle due to his physical age. He had shown up in Reborn's childhood a handful of times and Reborn received his first gun from Talbot.

Reborn felt a headache crop up. That was it. Somehow, he was going to fit in the rest of his training with his mother. There was so much he didn't know about his mother's race and Reborn hated not having information. Clearly much of this heartbreak could have been avoided if he had known and not been stubborn enough to go home.

As if reading his mind, Kaun explained, "Talbot is in charge of the cycles of innovation. He's been going a bit overboard lately, given the way humans have been progressing with new technological advances every few months. He's been researching the Arcobaleno Curse long than I have, mostly because he can actually stand to be in the same room as Kawahira longer than an hour."

"What are you two talking about?" Verde asked, completely exasperated by the whole thing.

"Old history," Kaun said.

"But you can really remove the curse?" Fon asked.

"Yes."

Aria reached out to grasp Kaun's hand. "Thank you," she said.

A flicker of grief crossed Kaun's face before disappearing. "You're welcome," she said subdued.

The door flew open and Dino burst into the room. His expression was grim. "Asahi said come quickly! It's Tsuna!"

Reborn was out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, what's happening to Tsuna now. Only 1 chapter and the epilogue left. Heh.
> 
> Always thought Talbot was a bit of an anomaly. Haha he just fit perfectly into this plot. Heh.


	22. Chapter 22

"What's wrong?" Reborn asked, darting back into Tsuna's room.

Kaun followed her son in with a grim expression. She immediately noticed how Tsuna's face was now covered in sweat, his expression twisting back into pain.

"I don't know," Asahi said, frowning.

Kaun peered down at Tsuna's stilled body. "I knew this was going to happen," Kaun muttered. "Reborn switch out with Asahi. I need you at the front. The Tri-Ni-Set isn't giving up on the other side which means we'll have to pull harder. Make me some chains. With any luck, everyone's strong bonds will be enough to call Sawada-kun's soul back."

There was no hesitation on anyone's part. Asahi pulled back as Reborn pushed his Flames forward. At the same time, four long chains were formed from Reborn's Flames. Kaun gave one to Asahi and took the other three into waiting room.

Immediately everyone jumped to attention at her presence. "Sawada-kun's Guardians," she asked.

The first, the Storm, stepped forward. "How is Juudaime?"

"Getting worse," Kaun said. "So, you and the rest get to help." She handed him one of the chains. "I'll make this very brief. We're currently playing tug-a-war with Sawada-kun's soul. We need to make sure he comes back. Take the chain, synchronize your Flames to it, don't use your Storm's disintegration, understand?"

"Yes!" Gokudera took the chain as Kaun looked at the rest of the group. Each of them already had a hand on the same chain, daring at her say something. Even a wobbly standing Hibari who should be on bed rest.

She noted each of them were shining with clear resolve in their eyes. Good. Sawada-kun had some good Elements even if he was still trying to build strong relationships them. "The rest of you do the same. You're trying to focus on your positive feelings on Sawada-kun. Call him back here."

"What about the rest of us?" Dino asked, stepping forward.

Kaun handed him a chain to him. "Same thing. If you think you can help call him back, pull. Even if you don't have Flames, just try. The heavy lifting is being taken care by Reborn and Asahi," she said.

Nana grabbed the chain that Dino was holding. "This is for Tsu-kun," she said. Iemitsu grabbed the chain as well, squeezing it.

"Don't fucking leave us out," Xanxus said snarling as he stormed back into the waiting room, covered in bandages. He snatched the last chain out of Kaun's hands. "Baby boss is fucking ours."

"I admire your tenacity," Kaun said. Not many people would be back on their feet so soon after a sparring session with her. Renato had found some interesting people.

The rest of the room spread out, everyone holding on a chain. She took a step back as those with Flames lit up. Briefly she felt a twinge of nostalgia. It had been a long time since she had seen this many Flames gathered in one place. The rainbow set of Flames danced, warming the room. The harmony of Flames sang.

Maybe this would work after all.

-.-.-.-.-

The minute Reborn had switched with his father, he grit his teeth at the sheer heaviness that had hit him. The weight of Tri-Ni-Set was crushingly heavy. Had his father been lifting it all by himself? It wasn't nearly this heavy when Reborn had first started.

Still Reborn pulled back against the weight. Somewhere along this line was Tsuna's soul and Reborn refused to lose him like this. He felt the flare of his father's flames, supporting him.

Then like a powerful vacuum, Reborn felt a powerful force pull behind him. The Tri-Ni-Set lurched, stumbling, the weight lifting easier. He smirked as he sensed the others' Flames swirling behind him. The echoes of thoughts reverberate down the chains he had created.

' _Juudaime!'_

' _Tsuna!'_

' _Tsuna-kun!'_

' _Boss!'_

' _Tsu-kun!'_

' _Small Animal.'_

' _Baby Boss get the fuck back here!'_

' _Tsunayoshi!'_

' _Sawada Tsunayoshi!'_

' _C'mon little bro!'_

' _Tsuna-nii!'_

' _Sawada!'_

Reborn grinned. "See Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said. "What did I tell you about worrying your family? Come back home."

He gave one strong pull, feeling something snap at the end. The force of it sent him tumbling as Asahi caught him before he hit the floor. Reborn jumped back out of his father's arms and back onto Tsuna's bed.

"Tsuna?" he asked, waiting with a bated breath.

There was a soft groan as Tsuna's eyes fluttered open. "Reborn?" Tsuna asked, voice raspy.

Relief flooded Reborn. He didn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. "Yes. Welcome back Tsuna."

There was a long road ahead, but everything would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap. Tsuna's fine, see no worries :P We have just the epilogue to go. 
> 
> Please leave a review on your way out. :3


	23. Epilogue

-Six Months Later-

Kawahira felt a chill run down his spine. His throat automatically tightened as he surveyed his surroundings. Before he could even react, purple Flames slammed into him like a tidal wave, sending him through a wall and skidding across the ground. He scrambled to his feet before a bullet shot clean through his leg, causing him to stumble, crashing back to the ground.

Something stepped on his head, pushing his head into the ground, the taste of dirt on his mouth.

"Kawahira."

He wheezed, gasping for air. It had been years since he had felt this pressure, angry and violent. Dangerous. But never before was it directed at him.

"Kaun," he choked out. He let out a cry as another bullet shot through his shoulder, followed by a swift kick to his gut. Kawahira curled up into himself trying to protect his stomach. His head spun, trying to grasp where she would come from next. He threw out his own Flames, trying to weave an illusion, but it shattered under the pressure of Kaun's own Cloud Flames.

He was hoisted up. A hand tightened around his throat. Kawahira wheezed, staring down at the gun barrel. He looked up, at Kaun's unforgiving gaze; her grey eyes cold as ice and hard as steel.

"Did you think I would take it laying it down?" Kaun asked. "My son, Kawahira. _My_ son. The one you refuse to acknowledge, yet knew full well about."

Black spots danced as he grew lightheaded. "He had the best potential," Kawahira protested. "He would have survived it. I _saw_ that much."

Kaun growled, her grip grew tighter. "And your reason for touching Sepira's line?"

"Skies grow… rarer and rarer," Kawahira said.

"Don't kill him, Kaun."

Kawahira dropped, gasping as he sucked in deep gulps of precious air. He looked up at his unexpected savior. "Asahi," Kawahira said. The normally gentle man looked at him coldly, the similarities of between him and his son almost like mirror images at this point.

"Kawahira," Asahi greeted back. "Talbot will be taking over the Tri-Ni-Set cycles from now on."

"You have no right to decide that," Kawahira spat.

"You're outnumbered by your elders," Kaun said. "Talbot and I both agreed. Renato may have survived the curse like you said, but you had centuries to fix it and you haven't. We already have come up with a new system in the years since you've cursed Renato."

"Then why taking it from me?" Kawahira hissed. The Tri-Ni-Set Cycle was all he had these days.

"Because using Sepira's line is unacceptable, because you tied it until her descendants were unable to support it. In two generations, it would have wiped her line out," Kaun said. " _ **Our Sky**_ , Kawahira and you dared."

"Sepira's dead!" Kawahira shouted back at her. His Sky was dead and gone, abandoned them all when they needed her the most.

Kaun fired another bullet into his arm. Kawahira shouted in pain, gritting his teeth as it the wave of pain threaten to make him pass out.

"And you've forgotten why we do this," Kaun hissed at him. "I don't want to see you for another two centuries. Either grow up and take responsibility like you always wanted or wallow in your misery."

"You need me," Kawahira yelled back at her.

Kaun let out a bitter laugh, holstering her gun. "No, we don't. We're the last, Kawahira. It's been the Age of Humans for a long time and the best we can do prepare for the day we all fade away."

Kaun spun around, her white hair hair flying behind her. "Sepira's dead, but she foresaw this long before any of us did," she said. "Or have you not figured out her dying message yet?"

Kawahira froze. "What does that mean?" Kaun walked away, Asahi following after her. "Kaun?!" "KAUN!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-Seven Months Later-

"Don't overdo it Tsuna," Reborn warned.

Tsuna took a hesitant step forward, leaning most of his weight on Reborn. The last seven months had passed in a blink of an eye. For Tsuna at least. It had been frustrating to spend so much time asleep during the first three months. Tsuna realized he had been awake for maybe an hour or two at most during that time. It got better by the fourth month but even now Tsuna still spent half the day asleep.

Frustrating. Every time Tsuna closed his eyes, something changed. It was never the same person at his bedside (though Tsuna had learned even if he wasn't in the room, Reborn was always, always, nearby.)

The most jarring was how Reborn had, one day, gone from being an infant to the same age as Tsuna. And to Tsuna's ever annoyance, exactly two inches taller! Apparently, as Reborn had explained in as little words as possible, that pacifier that he use to wear had a curse and it had been broken. Now why Reborn was fourteen instead whatever age he was previously, Tsuna didn't know. The rest of the Arcobaleno hadn't aged either, except for Lal who was flung back as a teenager.

Then there was Reborn's parents. They _had_ to be his parents. Asahi looked exactly like Reborn that Tsuna had a heart attack when he woke up one day to see a grown version of Reborn sitting at his bedside during the first month. Reborn didn't confirm it of course. He did say he would tell Tsuna if Tsuna managed to walk around the block.

Which was Tsuna's current goal and nemesis. Walking. Who knew relearning how to walk was so frustrating hard?

He managed to make it out of the front door and to the gate before exhaustion took over. Reborn caught him before he fell over. "I told you don't overdo it," Reborn chided.

"Sorry," Tsuna mumbled.

Reborn carried him back inside, depositing Tsuna on the couch and entering the kitchen. Asahi who had been writing at his desk, looked up at them in amusement. Kaun merely huffed and wrapped Tsuna a thick fluffy blanket.

"Thank you," Tsuna mumbled. He still wasn't quite use to the idea of actually living with Reborn's parents. (They had to be his parents. No other possible reasoning made sense.) But Kaun and Asahi had been welcoming. Kaun was terrifying and Tsuna could see that Reborn took after her, but Asahi was nice and possibly the only sane person in the room outside of Tsuna.

He still didn't quite understand why he was living them either. But he had to suspect it had to do with the fact that his actual home which was still housing many concerned visitors was too noisy. Tsuna had been home for a week, didn't remember much outside of having a headache from the sheer noise and chaos that kept recurring in his house before Kaun kidnapped him.

Given that Shouhen household was very quiet because Kaun controlled the number of visitors like a jealous angry dragon armed with far too much firepower for someone of her stature, it was very much welcomed.

"If you stay awake for the next two hours, your friends are coming over," Kaun said. "Of course I'm kicking them out the minute you fall asleep. They might get kicked out earlier if another one of my walls get dinged again."

"Okay," Tsuna said with an amused grin. He loved when his friends came to visit, even if they were noisy and chaotic. Kaun didn't appreciate the damage, but Tsuna had long gotten use to it.

Reborn reappeared with a cup of tea for Tsuna. Tsuna accepted it and lifted his feet so that Reborn could take a seat. Reborn slide into place, letting Tsuna rest his feet in his lap. Tsuna relaxed, feeling Reborn's Sun Flames hum to life, washing away some of the exhaustion that he felt.

"I'll make it out of the gate tomorrow," Tsuna vowed.

"I know you will," Reborn said, never doubting him.

Tsuna smiled at the faith that Reborn had in him. He would keep trying every day. With Reborn supporting him, there wasn't anything he couldn't do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap. I know this probably feels somewhat abrupt, but I had decided a few chapters ago that I was going to cut this story in half because I really didn't want to write the second half. Tsuna is recovering and as popularly requested, Kawahira got what was coming to him.
> 
> If you want to over to my tumblr to [my tag for this series](http://seitosokusha.tumblr.com/tagged/picture-me-without-you-au) you will find art I drew for this story and some other tidbits. If people want to know what was supposed to happen in the second half, I guess I'll post it there too. 
> 
> Thank you for sticking around with me for this story. Please leave a review on your way out!

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Years! 
> 
> As 'If There's A Song In Your Heart/A Song Only We Can Hear' winds down to a close, I figured let's start another story off. I'm not really sure where I'm going with this plunny (I have an idea, but how far I want to take it is up for debate at the moment). We'll see, I suppose.


End file.
